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Customers who use Penelec as their power generation supplier will pay less for their electricity.
Effective Wednesday, the residential rate for electricity will drop from 9.89 cents per kilowatt hour to 9.56 cents per kwh.
For the typical residential customer using 750 kwh of electricity per month, the monthly bill would dip from $142.29 to $139.83 for an overall bill decrease of 1.73%, said Todd Meyers, spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., Penelec's parent company.
Meyers said that roughly 50% of the Penelec electric bill is for the electricity itself (the price to compare that changes), and the other half is "for us to deliver power to homes and businesses through our wires (distribution rates that do not change quarterly)."
"The price to compare continues to be influenced largely by increases in the cost of natural gas and other commodities used as fuel to generate power," Meyers said.
Pennsylvanians can choose their electricity supplier. For the Altoona area, there are 43 providers in addition to Penelec.
PAPowerSwitch.com said those range from Town Square Energy and nTherm LLC at 7.99 cents per kwh (fixed rate for four months) to RPA Energy doing business as Green Choice Energy at 20.6 cents per kwh (variable rate).
Meanwhile, Kinect Energy is partnering with WGL Energy Services to provide electricity and natural gas to small business customers as part of its Chamber Choice program.
WGL Energy serves business and residential customers. The current rate being offered to residential customers is a two-year fixed rate of 9.50 cents per kwh.
Customers can secure the rate by going to the Blair chamber website and clicking on the icon for the Chamber Choice energy program or by visiting www.wglenergy.com/kinect.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.