PPL Pledges Rate-Review Transparency, Fee Reductions and Protections for Pennsylvania Customers

Allentown pledge on affordability and transparency

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Feb. 3 (Reuters) — PPL Corporation and its PPL Electric Utilities unit reaffirm commitment to transparency and affordability following Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget address, saying the utility is taking steps to manage rising energy costs and strengthen protections for customers. The company stresses it supports more open ratemaking and greater public understanding of rate cases while pursuing measures to lower bills for vulnerable households.

PPL outlines new rate-review transparency push

PPL Electric focuses its main effort on enhancing ratemaking transparency and accountability. The utility supports full rate reviews, independent management audits, regular operational reporting and quarterly earnings disclosures so regulators and customers see how costs and investments translate into bills. The company is actively negotiating with intervening parties in its pending rate review and says it is open to settlements that protect customers while sustaining necessary grid investments.

The utility also pledges outreach to help consumers understand rate-review outcomes, arguing that clearer explanations of settlements can reduce confusion and mistrust. PPL emphasizes decade-long cost-control measures and reliability investments as context for the current push, and frames transparency commitments as part of a collaborative approach with regulators and consumer advocates. The company positions these steps as designed to balance affordability with continued investment in system resilience.

Retail market reforms and fee reductions

Separately, PPL Electric backs retail market reforms to curb deceptive or costly third-party retail practices, saying residential customers incur more than $60 million in additional costs from shopping abuses in 2025. The utility urges clearer consumer information, stronger enforcement and education because supply charges remain the largest component of many customers’ bills. PPL reports it has identified fees that could be revised or eliminated, has shared proposals with the governor to address so-called “junk” fees, and will review reconnection and other charges that disproportionately affect low-income households.

Customer protections, grid investments and Chapter 14

PPL reiterates dedication to protecting vulnerable households and maintaining service during financial hardship, and says it continues customer protections and practices developed under Chapter 14 despite the law’s expiration in December 2024, expressing support for its reinstatement. The company highlights a decade of grid improvements and customer programs aimed at reliability and says it will keep monitoring market practices, fee structures and affordability metrics while collaborating with regulators and consumer advocates on policy changes.