A retired teacher, a single mother, a FedEx worker who also drives for DoorDash, a 19-year-old seeking her own apartment: All showed up Tuesday night to tell their local utility they simply can\u2019t afford a rate increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegular working people should not foot the bill for [the] data center boom while the big tech companies reap the benefits and rewards,\u201d said Barry McMickle of Allentown, summarizing one of the most consistently voiced concerns about a 7% residential rate increase proposed by PPL Electric Utilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cDenying this rate increase sends the clear message: utilities must balance financial health with fairness, affordability and environmental sustainability,\u201d McMickle said, urging the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to reject the increase.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s hearing in Catasauqua was one of four public input hearings \u2014 and the only one in the Lehigh Valley \u2014 the PUC scheduled as it investigates the requested rate hike. Those who couldn\u2019t attend in-person can offer testimony via telephone on Dec. 15. (See instructions at the end of this article, and register by Thursday.)<\/p>\n
Proposed increases for nonresidential customers would be smaller, with commercial rates rising about 3.1% and industrial rates rising about 2.6%. Small business advocates at the hearing said those rates also are too high.<\/p>\n
Speaker after speaker spoke of feeling stuck in a monopolistic market in which they can\u2019t choose their electric company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are married to you, not by choice,\u201d said Kyle Gardner of Emmaus. \u201cI wish I could divorce from PPL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gardner was one of many who spoke of the escalating impact of rising bills, saying his family\u2019s latest weekend grocery trip cost $800.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet all I hear on TV from our administration is: prices are down, things are cheaper,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n
Rising electric costs are an unavoidable reality, residents said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I want to survive in the winter, I need electric,\u201d said Scott Ettinger, a Lower Macungie Township resident who relies on a heat pump.<\/p>\n
Melissa Moyer, a single mother who lives in Catasauqua, said her inefficient, electric baseboard heaters are adding to her struggles to stay afloat, adding, \u201cI can\u2019t afford a new system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benjamin Robilotto, a Lower Macungie Township resident who works for both FedEx and DoorDash, said those working to make ends meet don\u2019t believe corporate promises that data center development will benefit all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work my butt off, you know, and it just doesn\u2019t seem fair,\u201d Robilotto said, \u201cespecially because these data centers, they don\u2019t really provide that many jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-133rd, said it\u2019s ironic that ratepayers will be paying the bills of companies who are trying to make jobs obsolete through artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an affordability crisis right now, and a rate increase will only add to it,\u201d McNeill said. \u201cSo many people are struggling and suffering, and this will make even more suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northampton County Executive Lamont G. McClure noted that the county saw its operational costs rise 16% this summer and that municipalities around the region could find themselves forced to pass on costs to taxpayers, who would then be paying twice for utility increases.<\/p>\n
McClure also emphasized the impact on seniors, saying, \u201cOlder Pennsylvanians should be able to live with dignity in their homes as long as they possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allison Jones, a 19-year-old from Allentown, was among the speakers who said rising prices are making it nearly impossible for young people to establish their own lives. Moving out and paying $1,000 a month for an apartment in Center City isn\u2019t feasible on a minimum-wage salary, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to push the young people in this area out of this area,\u201d Jones said, \u201cand the young people in this area are the future of this area.\u201d<\/p>\n