Almost all large customers shop, but a majority of small customers remain on utility default service, which is regulated and relatively stable.
Terry Fitzpatrick is CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, and was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The views expressed are solely those of the author and not intended to represent the views of the Energy Association or members.
Of the thirteen states plus the District of Columbia that allow all retail customers to choose their supplier of electricity, Pennsylvania has one of the most active markets. The number of customers purchasing electricity from a supplier1 other than their incumbent utility (commonly referred to as "shopping customers") began to rise when caps on the generation charges of utilities expired in most of Pennsylvania in 2010-2011. Currently, 36 percent of customers are purchasing from a competitive supplier and these customers consume 72 percent of the electric load in the Commonwealth.2 A prominent report ranks the success of Pennsylvania's program as second only to that of Texas.3