How to Lower Your Electric Bill in Pennsylvania in 2026

Want to lower your electric bill in Pennsylvania? If your bill feels too high in 2026, there are usually two places to look first: how much electricity the home is using, and how much you are paying for electricity supply.

Pennsylvania gives many homeowners control over both. Customers in PECO and PPL territory can generally choose a competitive electricity supplier while the utility continues handling poles, wires, metering, outages and distribution.

That creates an opportunity — but also another way to accidentally overpay.

A high bill could come from:

• An inefficient HVAC system
• Electric resistance heating
• Weak insulation
• High summer cooling load
• An expensive supplier contract
• A variable-rate supplier
• Higher utility delivery or supply costs
• A combination of several problems

Step 1: Compare kWh Before Comparing Dollars

Pull your latest electric bill and the same month from last year, then compare kilowatt-hours used rather than dollars.

For example, if last July was 850 kWh and this July was 1,150 kWh, that is about a 35% increase in electricity consumption. If the bill rose by a similar percentage, the likely problem is inside the home.

Look at the air conditioner, heat pump, dehumidifier, water heater, pool, EV and household occupancy.

If kWh stayed about the same but the dollar amount rose sharply, look at your rates and supplier instead.

Step 2: Find Your Electricity Supplier

Pennsylvania is a competitive electricity market. Your bill may show generation supply from PECO, from PPL, from a competitive supplier, or through an aggregation arrangement.

The utility's distribution charges remain regardless of supplier. But the generation rate can change significantly.

That means one of the fastest ways to reduce a Pennsylvania bill may require no new equipment at all.

Step 3: Compare Your Supplier Against the Price to Compare

Pennsylvania's official PA Power Switch website lets customers compare licensed electricity-supplier offers against the utility's Price to Compare.

As of September 2026:

• PECO — residential Price to Compare of 11.759¢/kWh through November 30, 2026
• PPL Electric — residential Price to Compare of 13.079¢/kWh from July 1 through November 30, 2026

Those numbers are important benchmarks.

Example: Supplier Review

Suppose your current supplier charges 15.5¢/kWh and you use 1,000 kWh a month. Compared with an 11.759¢ benchmark, the difference is 3.741¢/kWh.

That works out to roughly $37 a month, or about $449 a year, before considering contract fees, taxes, rate changes and usage differences.

That is enough money to justify reviewing the supply contract before buying equipment.

Step 4: Read the Supplier Contract Carefully

A low advertised rate is not enough. Check:

• Fixed vs. variable rate
• Contract length
• Monthly fee
• Early cancellation fee
• Introductory rate
• Automatic renewal terms

PPL specifically warns customers to ask whether supplier offers include fixed or variable rates, cancellation fees and defined contract terms.

A variable-rate supplier can become dramatically more expensive than the Price to Compare.

Pennsylvania's Variable-Rate Risk Is Real

Some competitive supplier variable plans have recently charged materially more than utility default supply.

That does not mean all competitive suppliers are bad. It means you should shop the contract, not the sales pitch.

Step 5: Look at HVAC Next

If kWh itself is high, heating and cooling should be one of the first systems investigated. Pennsylvania has hot, humid summers, cold winters and significant shoulder-season heating and cooling.

Warning signs include:

• Air conditioning running continuously
• Weak airflow
• Uneven rooms
• Excess humidity
• A heat pump that struggles
• AUX HEAT running frequently
• High winter electric usage
• Equipment 10–15+ years old

Electric Resistance Heat Deserves Special Attention

Some Pennsylvania homes use electric baseboard heat, an electric furnace or resistance backup heat. These systems can produce very high winter consumption.

Sometimes a heat pump should be doing the work, but the auxiliary (backup) resistance heat stays on too much. If so, check the thermostat setup, refrigerant, outdoor unit, defrost operation and backup heat controls. Do that before assuming the utility caused the bill increase.

Step 6: Use PPL's Free Energy Tools

PPL currently offers no-cost in-home and virtual energy assessments, along with an Energy Analyzer that helps homeowners identify where electricity is being used.

PPL's virtual assessment provides personalized recommendations based on actual household usage. That is a better first step than guessing.

Step 7: Use PPL's Current Efficiency Rebates

PPL expanded its efficiency offerings under the current Act 129 program cycle. Current residential opportunities include air sealing, attic insulation, basement insulation, wall insulation, heat pumps, central AC, mini-split systems, smart thermostats and heat-pump water heaters.

Recent 2026 examples include:

• Air-source heat pump — up to $325
• Mini-split heat pump — $225 per outdoor unit
• Heat-pump water heater — $400
• Central AC — up to $175
• Smart thermostat — up to $100

Current eligibility should always be verified before purchase.

Step 8: PECO Customers Should Use the Home-Energy Programs Too

PECO offers customers energy assessments, energy-use tracking, usage alerts, HVAC rebates, efficiency products, appliance recycling and personalized savings recommendations.

PECO's assessment program is designed to identify efficiency opportunities from attic to basement. That matters because the home's shell may be causing the equipment to work harder than necessary.

Step 9: Fix the Building Envelope

Common Pennsylvania problems include low attic insulation, rim-joist leakage, unsealed basement areas, old weatherstripping, duct leakage and general air infiltration.

If conditioned air escapes, the furnace or air conditioner has to replace it.

Insulation and air sealing can lower summer cooling, winter heating and peak demand without buying any generation equipment.

HVAC Before Solar Can Save Twice

Suppose your home uses 15,000 kWh a year and a contractor sizes solar around those 15,000 kWh.

But HVAC replacement, insulation and duct sealing cut usage to 11,500 kWh a year. Now the homeowner buys less electricity and needs a smaller solar system.

Step 10: PPL Customers Can Use Time-of-Use Pricing

PPL's current residential Time-of-Use program runs from June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2029. Current residential rates are 17.542¢/kWh on-peak and 12.140¢/kWh off-peak.

Peak periods are:

• Summer (June 1 – November 30) — 2–6 p.m. weekdays
• Winter (December 1 – May 31) — 4–8 p.m. weekdays

That creates an opportunity for flexible households.

What Should You Shift?

Possible loads include EV charging, the dryer, the dishwasher, water heating, pool equipment and the dehumidifier. PPL specifically recommends moving these kinds of flexible loads away from the peak window.

PPL Time-of-Use Has No Enrollment or Cancellation Fee

PPL's TOU program currently has no enrollment fee and no cancellation penalty. That can make trying it fairly low-risk.

However, participation requires taking supply from PPL rather than a competitive supplier. So compare both options.

PECO Also Offers Time-of-Use Pricing

PECO's TOU structure uses a 2–6 p.m. weekday peak, a midnight–6 a.m. super off-peak window, and off-peak for all other applicable hours. The specific rates change with PECO's generation pricing.

Again, TOU only saves money if the household can actually shift usage.

Step 11: Consider Solar — but Understand Pennsylvania's Supplier Issue

Pennsylvania still has relatively strong traditional net-metering rules. Qualifying residential systems up to 50 kW can participate, and monthly excess generation can roll forward within the annual net-metering period.

That is homeowner-friendly. But Pennsylvania's competitive supplier market adds another layer.

If You Have a Competitive Supplier, Check Solar Terms

Competitive electricity suppliers can have their own generation-side treatment for excess solar.

That means your utility may handle the meter, the interconnection and distribution credits, while your supplier contract affects generation compensation.

Before installing solar, review the supplier agreement.

PPL Has a Particularly Useful 2026 Solar Benchmark

PPL's current annual excess-generation compensation rate is 13.079¢/kWh for the July 1 through November 30, 2026 period. That matches its current residential Price to Compare.

PPL also allows most net-metering customers to participate in its TOU program, which can make the timing of solar generation more valuable.

Solar Should Still Be Right-Sized

Pennsylvania's net-metering rules are favorable. That does not mean you should fill every inch of roof.

The system should reflect efficient annual usage, future EV load, future heat-pump load, roof condition, shade, financing and ownership horizon.

What About Batteries?

A battery can store excess solar, shift usage, provide outage backup and interact with TOU pricing. PPL currently lists an Optimized Battery program among its residential efficiency and grid programs.

Exact eligibility and compensation should be checked when the battery is quoted.

Does a Battery Make Sense for Pure Savings?

Not automatically. Pennsylvania still gives exported solar meaningful value, which reduces the urgency to buy a battery solely to prevent exports.

Storage may make more sense for outage resilience, TOU shifting, critical loads and grid-program incentives than for simple export avoidance.

Solar Alone Usually Does Not Provide Backup

A standard grid-connected solar system usually shuts down during a utility outage. Backup generally requires a battery, a backup-capable inverter, isolation equipment and proper electrical design.

Panels alone are not a generator.

Step 12: Watch PPL's July 2026 Distribution Increase

PPL's new distribution rates took effect July 1, 2026. For a representative residential customer using 1,000 kWh, PPL estimates the approved change increased the total monthly bill by approximately $6.48.

That increase is separate from the Price to Compare, and the distinction matters. A homeowner may see a supply increase, a distribution increase and higher summer usage all at once.

PPL Says Supply Costs Also Rose Materially

PPL says supply-price changes over the preceding year added approximately $20 a month for an average residential customer. Higher PJM capacity costs drove much of that increase.

That is another reason to examine both usage and supply.

Step 13: Use Assistance Programs if the Problem Is Affordability

If the immediate issue is “I cannot pay this bill,” that needs a different response.

PPL currently runs OnTrack, Operation HELP and WRAP. WRAP can provide eligible households with free in-home energy surveys and efficiency measures.

PECO offers an Assistance Finder that matches customers with programs including bill assistance, payment arrangements, income-based bill support, free energy-efficiency items and home-energy upgrades.

That may be much more appropriate than financing new equipment for a household already struggling with basic utility affordability.

LIHEAP Is Seasonal

PPL currently lists LIHEAP as closed for the season as of September 2026. So a September proposal should not present LIHEAP as money immediately available today. Other utility assistance programs may still be available.

The Best Order to Lower a Pennsylvania Electric Bill

For most homeowners:

1. Compare kWh. Determine whether usage increased.
2. Check the supplier. Compare the contract against the Price to Compare.
3. Diagnose HVAC. Especially resistance heat and aging heat pumps.
4. Inspect insulation and ducts. Reduce unnecessary load.
5. Use utility assessments and rebates. PECO and PPL both offer meaningful programs.
6. Evaluate TOU if the household can shift electricity usage.
7. Size solar around the efficient home, and understand supplier-specific solar treatment.
8. Evaluate battery storage separately — for TOU, resilience, grid programs, or a combination.

Four Pennsylvania Homes Can Have the Same $300 Bill and Need Completely Different Solutions

Home 1. Variable electricity supplier at an expensive rate. Best first move: switch supply.

Home 2. Electric resistance heating and poor insulation. Best first move: HVAC and weatherization.

Home 3. Efficient high-use home with excellent roof exposure. Best first move may be solar.

Home 4. Existing solar, a TOU opportunity and a homeowner who wants outage protection. Best next move may be a battery.

The Ashborn Approach

Before recommending equipment, Ashborn Partners looks at your PECO or PPL service, your electricity supplier, past kWh use and the current Price to Compare. We also review HVAC, insulation, rate plan, solar, battery and any future EV or electrification plans.

Pennsylvania supplier offers, utility Prices to Compare, efficiency rebates and solar compensation can change. PECO's current residential Price to Compare is 11.759¢/kWh through November 30, 2026, while PPL's current residential Price to Compare is 13.079¢/kWh through November 30, 2026. Always verify the homeowner's actual supplier contract before calculating savings.