How to use PA Power Switch to compare electricity offers

PA Power Switch is the state’s shopping site for electricity. It’s run by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), the state agency that licenses electricity suppliers.^⁠[1,5] You enter your ZIP code, and it lists the offers where you live.^⁠[1]

Your utility still delivers your power. PECO, for example, says it still handles billing questions and outages.^⁠[6] A supplier only sets the price for the supply part of your bill.^⁠[7] Whether you can shop depends on your setup:

• The electric account is in your name. If PECO, PPL, Duquesne Light, Met-Ed or another state-regulated utility serves you, you can usually shop, though offers vary by area.^⁠[1,5]
• Your building pays for electricity. If power is included in your rent or your building shares one meter, the account is your landlord’s, so ask them. Our guide to master-metered and submetered apartments explains who pays.
• A co-op or your town serves you. The PUC doesn’t oversee rural electric co-ops or most town-run utilities.^⁠[8]
• You get help paying your bill. Ask your utility first. PPL, for example, says people in its OnTrack program pay the price to compare.^⁠[9]
• You have solar panels. Ask a supplier if it offers net metering (credit for the power your panels send back), because suppliers don’t have to. Switching also settles up any credits you’ve saved, so ask your utility how it pays those first.^⁠[10]

Grab a recent electric bill. The site asks for a few things printed on it.^⁠[11]

• Your ZIP code and utility

  Pick the utility named on your bill.^⁠[11]

• Your rate schedule

  This is the kind of home rate you’re on, like PECO’s regular residential rate.^⁠[7,11] Met-Ed prints it at the top right of its Usage Report.^⁠[12]

• Your price to compare

  PECO prints it in the Message Center on page 2. PPL puts it in the supply section on page 1.^⁠[13,14]

• How much you use

  Look for kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit your use is measured in. You’ll type it into the results page.^⁠[7]

• PECO’s Choice ID

  PECO asks you to give suppliers this number from page 2 of your bill, not your account number.^⁠[15]

• Your current contract

  If you already have a supplier, check for a fee to cancel early.^⁠[16]

You compare offers on the state’s site, then sign up with the supplier you pick.^⁠[16]

1. Enter your ZIP code

   Go to papowerswitch.com and enter your ZIP code to see offers for your home.^⁠[1]

2. Pick your utility and rate schedule

   Choose the utility on your bill, then the rate that matches it, such as regular residential or residential heating.^⁠[7,11]

3. Set your usage and filters

   Enter how many kWh you use a month. Then filter by fixed or variable price, contract length and fees.^⁠[7] The filters help you skip offers you don’t want.^⁠[17]

4. Compare each offer with your price to compare

   Your utility’s price to compare sits at the top of the results. Each offer shows an estimated monthly cost, with its monthly fee included.^⁠[7]

5. Sign up with the supplier

   Call the supplier or sign up on its website. It starts the switch for you.^⁠[16]

6. Watch your mail

   The supplier mails your full contract terms (the Disclosure Statement) and a one-page contract summary.^⁠[16,18] Check that the price, length and fees match the offer you picked. Your utility then mails a letter with the date your new supplier starts.^⁠[19]

Your price to compare is what your utility charges per kWh if you don’t pick a supplier.^⁠[20,17] It covers the same things a supplier’s price does, so you can compare the two directly.^⁠[21,22]

Most utilities change it on June 1 and December 1, and some change it in between.^{⁠[23,3,22,2,21]} Here’s where the big utilities stand:

These prices are for supply only. Your utility’s delivery charges come on top.^⁠[7] If you’re on a heating rate, use that rate’s price instead. Duquesne’s estimated heating price from December 1 is 13.12¢.^⁠[21]

The price and the fees decide what you pay, and the contract length decides for how long.

An offer beats your rate when it costs less each month at your usage, fees included. The site does the math for each offer. Type your monthly kWh into its usage filter, and each offer shows an estimated monthly cost, with its monthly fee included.^⁠[7]

Here’s a real offer from PECO’s area on November 8, 2026. It charges 9.79¢ per kWh, fixed for 12 months, plus a $14.95 monthly fee and a $50 fee to cancel early.^⁠[7]

In this example, the monthly fee makes the offer cost more if you use less, and less if you use more. So let your own usage decide. If you don’t have a bill yet, our electric bill estimator gives a monthly range for your kind of home.

Your price to compare will change again, so an offer that beats it today may not beat it next summer.^⁠[3] In June 2026, the PUC warned that offers below the utility’s price may be short contracts, usually three to six months.^⁠[17]

A switch takes a little while, because it happens in three steps:

• You have three business days to change your mind after you get the Disclosure Statement.^⁠[30]
• After that, the supplier sends your sign-up to your utility.^⁠[19]
• Your utility makes the change within three business days of getting it, and mails you the start date.^⁠[33,19]

Your utility doesn’t charge anything to go back to its price to compare.^⁠[18] To go back, the PUC says to contact your utility.^⁠[20] At PPL, you cancel with your supplier instead, and you go back to PPL’s price automatically.^⁠[9]

Your supplier may still charge a cancellation fee, so check your contract. Near the end of a contract, your supplier mails a letter with your choices at least 30 days before the end date. Once it arrives, there’s no fee to leave.^⁠[16,34]

Go through this list before you sign up, and tick off each item.

Questions about a supplier or an offer? Call the PUC’s consumer help line at 1-800-692-7380.^⁠[17]

Public Grid can do this comparison for you where there’s energy choice, looking for a lower fixed price than your current rate. If staying put is the better move, we’ll tell you, and our service is free. We earn money through referrals from our energy partners when we connect you to their programs.

Supply rate

Utility price to compare13.80¢

Fixed rate we found12.90¢