Customers who use Penelec as their power generation supplier are paying less for their electricity.

Effective March 1, the residential rate for electricity decreased from 6.45 cents per kilowatt hour to 5.4 cents per kwh, said spokesman Todd Meyers of FirstEnergy Corp., Penelec’s parent company.

For residential customers using 750 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, bills will decrease by about $7.79 from $114.40 per month to $106.61 per month, Meyers said.

Power generation costs have fluctuated since Dec. 31, 2010, when electricity caps expired. The electric generation rate, which Penelec calls its price to compare, is updated quarterly. Electric bills are divided into two parts: the cost of generating electricity and the cost of transmission for maintaining electric lines, etc.

Consumers can choose their electric supplier. For the Altoona area, there are 53 providers in addition to Penelec. The other pro­vid­ers’ rates for the area, according to PAPowerSwitch.com, range from Town Square Energy at 4.63 cents per kilowatt hour (fixed rate for four months) to SFE Energy at 10.79 cents per kilowatt hour (fixed rate for 24 months).

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 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The program is open to any local residential customer.

The current rate being offered to residential customers is a two-year fixed rate of 6 cents per kilowatt hour.

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 946-7467.