Customers who use Penelec as their power generation supplier will see their electricity bill rise as the company announced a rate increase.

Effective today, the residential rate for electricity has increased from 9.56 cents per kilowatt hour to 9.70 cents per kwh, according to Todd Meyers, spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., Penelec’s parent company.

For the typical residential customer using 750 kwh per month, that means bills will increase about 0.76% from $139.90 to $140.96. The price of generation accounts for somewhere between 40% and 60% of the total bill, Meyers said.

“The reason for the slight increase is that auction prices for generation came in a bit higher, though essentially flat,” Meyers said.

“We’ve transitioned to two auctions per year rather than quarterly auctions to procure generation for our non-shopping customers, so the default rates won’t change again until December,” Meyers said.

Pennsylvanians can choose their electricity supplier. For the Altoona area, there are 46 providers in addition to Penelec.

PAPowerSwitch.com shows those range from Just Energy at 7.69 cents per kwh (fixed rate for three months) to Nordic Energy Services LLC at 19.99 cents per kwh (fixed rate for three months).

“It is important to remember that our customers are not captive to the price to compare. We encourage our customers to shop for generation. They may be able to find an offer that can save them money. Just be certain to understand the terms and conditions of all offers and read the fine print,” Meyers said.

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 9.25 cents per kwh or a one year fixed rate of 9.03 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 wglenergy.com/kinect.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.