HARRISBURG, Pa.- The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has announced four in-person public hearings to gather input on a proposed PPL Electric rate increase.
PPL is asking for a distribution rate increase, its first since 2016. The PUC voted 5-0 last month to suspend and investigate the proposal.
Of the four in-person public hearings, only one is in the Lehigh Valley. It’s scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9 at the Catasauqua Municipal Building at 90 Bridge Street.
The other hearings are happening in Scranton (December 8), Harrisburg (December 10), and Lancaster (December 11).
The PUC will also conduct two hearings by telephone.
More information on the hearings, and how to participate, can be found here.
PPL, which is based in Allentown, said the $356.3 million increase is needed to pay for a number of improvements.
If the PUC gives the go-ahead, the increase would add about $13 a month to the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month, or about 7 percent.
PPL said a typical commercial customer using 1,000 kWh and 3 KW per month would see an increase of about $8 per month. For a typical industrial customer using 150,000 kWh and 500 KW per month, the increase would be about $514 per month.