Saving on Electricity: If You’re Not Shopping Around, You’re Probably Paying Too Much

Jan. 26, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

If you aren’t shopping for your electricity supplier, you’re probably paying too much.

If you already shop, stop reading. This will do you no good at all.

I live in PPL Corp. territory. I have no choice about who delivers the energy (without going solar, not a good option at my property) but I can choose the supplier. PPL wants to add about $12 or so to the average delivery bills starting next summer, but that remains under the review of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

By the way, I saved about $75 in December by shopping, so it can add up. My bill more than doubled from November, but it could have been worse.

Here’s a link to how PPL explains its bills. The company can ask for a new rate every twice per year, so the current rate of 12.953 cents per kilowatt hour is good through about June.

All the customer needs to know is their account number and zip code.

Go to this website: papowerswitch.com.

Enter zip code, hit the arrow.

Select energy supplier. In my case, PPL. Hit Next.

The screen should indicate Regular Residential Service. Then hit Compare Now.

The screen tells you that PPL’s rate is 12.953 cents per kilowatt hour.

On the left are several options. I always click:

— Fixed rate.

— No cancellation fee.

— No enrollment fee.

— No monthly fee.

Under “Sort by” switch it to price.

Others may prefer variable rates or other options. I like to keep it as simple as possible. I don’t want gift cards for switching because I’ll just pay for that somewhere else.

Now, remember the PPL “default rate” if you don’t shop is 12.953 cents right now, and won’t change until around June. So any lower price that’s good for five months or more guarantees a lower price than PPL, until the next rate change.

When I enter all the above information, I get more than 10 offers below PPL’s rate that are for five months or longer. Not taking them is leaving money on the table, if you’re paying the default rate.

Beware of one thing, most really low offers are good for just two or three months. You can save money, but you have to switch in advance of the expiration date or risk paying a lot more.

Right now I’m paying 10.99 cents per kilowatt hour, so none of these offers is going to help me, but they will save money for anybody paying the default rate.

Based on my rate being almost 2 cents per kilowatt hour, I saved about $75 on my December bill. That will pay for about four pizzas.

There is one catch. If your rate runs out and you forget to shop again, the rate may soar. I suggest checking at least monthly, because if you’re not paying enrollment/cancellation/monthly fees, you can switch anytime.

So set a note on your calendar about two weeks before it expires: Shop for Energy. If worst comes to worst, you can always take the PPL rate. It’s not going to be the cheapest, but it will be lower than many.

And save some money.

— Disclosure: I own shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL). The dividends do not cover my electricity bills.