STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has held various public hearings regarding a $503 million electric rate increase by FirstEnergy.
The utility is seeking an annual increase in revenues of $503,848,000 (34%) for electric distribution services provided to customers in the Med-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power Rate Districts. Those serve about 2.1 million customers in 56 counties across the Commonwealth.
The proposed rate adjustment builds on service reliability enhancements made in recent years by upgrading additional distribution grid equipment, providing ongoing tree trimming and creating a team to help low-income residential customers participate in bill assistance programs.
“We understand that it’s very important to keep things as affordable as possible for our customers. Everything from inflation to everything else is difficult. We don’t want to put too much of a burden on customers, but we also need to have the money to invest in our system to provide reliable electricity for our customers,” FirstEnergy Spokesperson Todd Meyers said.