Sept. 14, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
PPL Corp. has proposed a way to tie certain transmission costs directly to big customers, such as data centers, that the company says will protect residential and small-business customers.
The Allentown-based utility’s PPL Electric Utilities unit has filed a plan with the state Public Utility Commission to make the cost of power transmission more transparent and tie some costs directly to big users.
PPL has been in talks with data-center developers. Some residents in its Lehigh Valley service territory have objected to the potential demand on electricity and water that the centers can bring. On top of that, there is public suspicion about Artificial Intelligence, which is supported by data centers.
Christine Martin, president of PPL Electric Utilities, said in a press release today that the company is balancing growth and its responsibility to other customers.
“We want to ensure that all of our customers benefit from economic growth and that includes how investments in the electric grid are supported. As Pennsylvania grows, our responsibility is to make sure existing customers are protected,” Martin said.
“This proposal would make transmission costs easier to see on customer bills and provide a way to assign certain transmission costs associated with serving large energy users directly to those customers. It’s a practical step that supports responsible growth while helping protect residential and small business customers,” she said in the company statement.
PPL has filed its proposal with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The PUC has issued statements recently noting that soaring demand from data centers puts the reliability of electricity supplies at risk.
Shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) closed at $33.79 today, giving the company a market capitalization of $25.4 billion. Shares of some companies that serve data centers, such as chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) dropped today on speculation of increased oversight of Artificial Intelligence.
Disclosure: I own shares in PPL and other companies involved in data centers.
Here’s a link to the PPL statement and below is a cut-and-paste version:
PPL Electric Proposes New Customer Protection Transmission Rider, Building on its Existing Customer Protection Framework
ALLENTOWN, Pa., Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PPL Electric Utilities today filed a proposal with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that would make transmission costs more transparent for customers and create a new way to directly assign certain transmission-related costs associated with large energy users to those customers.
The proposal would establish a Customer Protection Transmission Rider (CPTR) and replace the current Transmission Service Charge (TSC). It builds on the company’s existing Customer Protection Framework, which already requires large-load customers served under the LP-6 rate class to make significant financial and usage commitments before connecting to the system.
Pennsylvania is experiencing increasing interest from data centers and other large energy users that can require substantial electric infrastructure investments. PPL Electric’s Customer Protection Framework is designed to help ensure growth occurs responsibly while supporting affordability, reliability and transparency for existing customers. The proposed CPTR would add another layer of protection by creating a mechanism to directly allocate certain transmission network upgrade costs associated with serving large-load customers to those customers while giving all customers a clearer view of transmission costs on their bills.
“We want to ensure that all of our customers benefit from economic growth and that includes how investments in the electric grid are supported. As Pennsylvania grows, our responsibility is to make sure existing customers are protected,” said Christine Martin, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “This proposal would make transmission costs easier to see on customer bills and provide a way to assign certain transmission costs associated with serving large energy users directly to those customers. It’s a practical step that supports responsible growth while helping protect residential and small business customers.”
Customer benefits of the proposal
Today, transmission costs are embedded within supply charges on the bill and recovered through existing cost-recovery mechanisms by customers’ energy suppliers or by PPL Electric for default service customers. While these costs are recovered through established regulatory frameworks, this approach makes it difficult for customers to see these costs on their bills and limits the ability for the company to directly assign certain transmission network costs associated with large-load growth to a specific customer class.
The proposed CPTR would address both challenges by making transmission costs visible to customers through a dedicated line item and creating a mechanism for the company to directly allocate certain transmission network upgrade costs associated with LP-6 large-load customers to that customer class. This added protection helps ensure customers driving the need for new transmission investments contribute directly to those shared costs while increasing transparency and accountability for all customers.
The proposal would not add a new charge. It would replace the existing Transmission Service Charge with a more transparent method of recovering transmission costs while positioning all customers to benefit from the expected reduction in transmission costs as large-load customers begin contributing a larger share of transmission network costs.
If approved, the CPTR is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2028, further expanding PPL Electric’s Customer Protection Framework.
For more information visit: pplelectric.com/CustomerProtections.
About PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities delivers safe, reliable and affordable electricity to about 1.5 million homes and businesses in eastern and central Pennsylvania. It regularly ranks among the country’s best utility companies for reliability and customer satisfaction. PPL Electric Utilities is a major employer and an active supporter of the communities it serves. It is a part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies. Visit pplelectric.com or connect on social media via Facebook, X and Instagram for energy efficiency tips, bill help information, guidance on shopping for an electricity supplier, storm updates and more.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 