Testifiers detail reason for electric bill increases, highlight relief options for consumers
Supply and demand imbalance in regional energy grid driving up energy rates
Rep. Brian Munroe September 10, 2025 | 2:33 PM
WARMINSTER, Sept. 10– Electricity usage is on the rise in Pennsylvania, and consumers are seeing the same rise on their electric bills. The PA House Majority Policy Committee convened a hearing Wednesday, hosted by Rep. Brian Munroe (D-Bucks), to identify the reason behind increasing rates and what can be done to save Pennsylvanians money.
“The most important part of our job as elected officials is listening to the concerns of our constituents. It’s clear our constituents are concerned about increased utility rates, especially at a time when the cost of living continues to rise. It impacts elected officials too—my own energy rates are at risk of doubling,” said Munroe. “Families and seniors on fixed incomes are struggling to stay in their homes while families have to decide between paying bills and buying food. This is a required conversation to find out what we can do to provide much-needed relief to our residents.”
A recording of Wednesday's hearing can be found here.
In July, PECO Energy Company, which provides electric distribution services to Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, increased rates by approximately 13%. PECO Senior Manager of Retail Rates Megan McDevitt testified that the increase is due to higher energy and capacity prices in the regional transmission grid. McDevitt added that the driving factors behind the supply and demand imbalance and rising costs include increased demand through data centers and retirement of fossil-generated units.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission provided further information on the costs of electric power. The costs are split into two main types—supply of electricity and delivery of electricity. The trends for these costs vary in both the long and short term. The long-term trend of supply of power is that it’s getting less expensive, but the long-term trend of delivery costs has been increasing. The short-term trend for supply and delivery of electricity has been getting more expensive, leading to the price spike consumers are seeing now.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and House Democrats have a proposal to lower electricity bills and build advanced energy projects in the commonwealth through the Lightning Plan. The six-bill package of legislation would help increase energy supply by providing new incentives and tools to build energy projects in Pennsylvania, reduce energy demand by improving energy efficiency, and lower electricity bills by returning credits to consumers on their utility bills.
The average age of a home in Pennsylvania is 57 years old, constructed long before energy efficiency options were available to homeowners. Data shows that energy efficiency repairs can help lower utility bills. Window and roof replacements, insulation and air-sealing and HVAC upgrades to high-efficiency models have all shown to save homeowners thousands of dollars each year. These upgrades can be expensive, which is why testifiers urged members to invest more funding into the state’s Whole Home Repair program, so more residents can upgrade their homes and decrease their bills.
“Electricity is something we use every day without usually thinking twice about it, but rising electricity rates have some consumers struggling to keep their lights on. It’s something that impacts everyone, regardless of political party or status, but low-income residents are feeling the most strain,” said House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Ryan Bizzarro. “It’s clear the legislature needs to advance the common-sense Lightning Plan and invest in energy-efficiency repairs for homeowners to provide them relief from high utility bills.”
Customers experiencing issues with their utility company are encouraged to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission after contacting their utility company to attempt to resolve the issue.
Testifiers at Wednesday’s hearing include Megan McDevitt, Senior Manager of Retail Rates for PECO Energy Company; Aaron Troncoso, Senior Policy Advisor for the Office of the Pennsylvania Governor; Kimberly Barrow, Esq., Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; and Michael McPeak, Home Repair Program Director for the Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County.
Testimony for Wednesday’s hearing can be found here.
Information about this and other House Democratic Policy Committee hearings can be found at pahouse.com/policy.