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theREALPLM OP t1_j6rp7t6 wrote

The radio report I heard said that PPL said it affected up to 800,000 customers. I can’t even fathom how this could occur. If I were involved in their customer support, I would quit immediately.

97

Bobwiththebigone t1_j6rq6de wrote

Had to pump up the earnings report for the stock price. Someone must be trying to get a hefty bonus.

14

NegativeIcecream t1_j6rrq3c wrote

What is happening over there?! They also completely messed up however the estimate bills and told some people they owe twice as much for Dec and Jan. And their response is “oh we will even it out in the next few months bill”. How is this shit legal?

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theREALPLM OP t1_j6rt171 wrote

I'm also shocked by my natural gas bill which is $100 higher than December (already high-average), it was my highest utility bill ever (it's not even cold!!!!). This kind of financial hit could be devastating to someone . Both get automatically deducted on the same day.

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flaaaacid t1_j6rtmkf wrote

This right here is exactly why I don’t allow automatic payments on most things.

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ronreadingpa t1_j6rtwh8 wrote

PPL still hasn't explained exactly what happened. Be nice if some news media would press them on it, but most news outlets simply regurgitate whatever a company or official says.

Noticed a new 5% System Improvement surcharge. PPL used to be relatively affordable with good service. Not anymore. PPL is seemingly not shopping for the best rate possible, which is what they're supposed to do. Their default rate of 14+ cents is among the very highest of any utility in the state. Distributers aren't supposed to profit on supplying electricity, but suspect PPL is in some roundabout way. Very shady and should be investigated.

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enlightnight t1_j6rujn0 wrote

If only we had a word for when money is taken against the owners will...

32

ronreadingpa t1_j6ruqaj wrote

Illustrates the danger of autopay. Better to manually pay the bill each month. Lots of things are legal many wouldn't expect. Fortunately, due to the huge number of complaints, PPL has recently announced they will allow late payments with no threat of shutoff nor late fees through the end of March.

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trying-to-be-kind t1_j6rvkmm wrote

I was also hit with an "estimated" bill that was at least 2x my normal bill for this time of year. If you can't get through to PPL, you can file an informal complaint through the PA PUC:

https://www.puc.pa.gov/filing-resources/forms/complaint-forms/

It won't result in any immediate help, but the PUC may light a fire under PPL so they don't "accidentally" pull this stunt again. The fact they didn't immediately correct everyone's electric bill (but were quick to offer payment plans) tells me this was not the glitch they claim it was.

33

SchnauzerHaus t1_j6rx5t5 wrote

I'm starting to feel like I'm not paying my bill until the end of March. I don't have autopay. No one should, I know it's convenient, but I would be livid if that much money "automatically" came out of my bank account. Fuck auto pay.

20

tideblue t1_j6rxem7 wrote

I got hosed on utility bills a few years ago. Moved into a small 1-BR, and setting up utilities was extremely expensive. Here it turns out there was a couple living there before me, who worked from home and ran up the electric bill every month with heating in the Winter. They billed me for their usage history for like six months, and wouldn’t give me a refund but “credit that would go to my next bill.”

Basically paid my electric for the rest of the time I lived there, and didn’t get any kind of refund when I closed the account.

18

thenewtbaron t1_j6ryc6m wrote

actually, you should have gotten a refund, it may have taken a while.

If you moved over to a new place and new electrical, maybe you can go to the PA treasury place and find that they still owe you a check?

23

Allemaengel t1_j6rygox wrote

I hope some c-suite execs at 9th and Hamilton are shitting a brick over this screw-up.

But at that level they probably think that it's just a joke

14

flaaaacid t1_j6rz7ph wrote

Utilities don’t shut off because of a one month late payment. They’ll assess a minor late fee (or in this case, won’t, because they said that’s suspended for now) and life goes on.

11

NickLandis t1_j6rzyr1 wrote

wtf is this title? There's nothing in the article about them taking 3 month advance automatic payment here.

This is just the same issue that was posted last week but with a highly editorialized title...

8

NegativeIcecream t1_j6s01bn wrote

Agreed, I don’t auto pay either. But in this case I tried calling and was on hold for an hour before I gave up. So I guess y option is waste time calling or just don’t pay until they figure their shit out

6

Mor_Tearach t1_j6s1hnw wrote

PPL once took $20.000 instead of $200 ( and no we didn't have it, hence the shocker when trying to use our debit card ).

PPL is wayyyy outta hand. Disclaimer being we live in the woods and lose power every time there's a storm and high wind- crews %100 amazing getting out here ). Our last 3 bills TWICE what we usually pay.

First time we scrambled- almost no use of the dryer, very careful with the stove, we have a coal stove for heat, a few rooms we have electric heat and simply did not turn it on, ever, all our lights are LED but we were still careful about turning off lights. Tons of things, we spent a month being really careful.

Next bill? $45 bucks more. PPL is officially outta control.

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tideblue t1_j6s1l2s wrote

It’s annoying, but it’s more the point about not giving customers back money if they overcharge you. I’m the one who paid and caught the mistake, but I don’t know how it’s legal for them to say “We’ll just hold on to that and apply it to your future bills.”

12

Cilantroduction t1_j6s2fvb wrote

NJ here. My utility bill shot WAY up, and my "this is what you used compared to last year" statement showed that my household used LESS than this time last year. I was averaging about $125 to $175 a month with a 1,700-sq-ft house, and 3 adults using water, gas, and electricity. MOST of my lighting elements are LED, and we have gas heat and hot water. Our gas and electric bill this month?? $325.00 This all seems like greedflation to me. PS...we keep our heat down to 64 to 65 during the day, and we allow ourselves the luxury of 67 degrees at night, only if its very cold out. Spoiler: It hasn't been that cold at night at all. We also all use heated blankets. This and the cost of groceries, and gas for our cars is killing the finances and dreams of most working families.

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StupiderIdjit t1_j6s2gqy wrote

You literally described my scenario (but I don't live in the woods). Despite all that scrambling to scrimp, we still got hit with 1450 kwh - about $300 for a 2 bedroom apartment (we've only been using the one bedroom).

21

IamSauerKraut t1_j6s2ya3 wrote

imho, utilities should not be able to grab an interest free loan from customers, which is how overcharges are typically handled. Given the recent inflation and price increases on nearly everything, there is a growing population that simply cannot afford to be forced to pay in advance. Not disconnecting or surcharging customers helps ease the burden, but seriously? Too many industry folks within PUC, imho.

12

theREALPLM OP t1_j6s3086 wrote

It's effectively what PPL did to me and a whole bunch of other people (from what I can tell) because it's only an 'estimate' and it will supposedly be corrected and we'll be credited for the future bills. They somehow glitched their estimates up badly. On top of that Natural gas rates have skyrocketed. So I'm getting hit with my biggest ever electric bill on a winter month (and with no AC usage) and then my highest ever (by far) natural gas bill in a mild winter month. Poof, there goes my whole paycheck. Pretty shocking

13

throwingarmweak t1_j6s30rr wrote

I wish I could have autopay off, but as someone with disabilities it's the main way that I ensure that all my bills are paid on time because my memory is severely impacted and I'd end up with a ton of late fees if I didn't 😞

12

69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j6s3mzi wrote

When people hoot and holler and bitch about da gubbermint, point at shit like this. When government regulations on business are weak, they can do shit like this with impunity, and frequently do.

 
In a just world with a functioning regulatory state, shit like this would get a company broken up.

26

kaneda32 t1_j6s4yqd wrote

>PPL still hasn't explained exactly what happened. Be nice if some news media would press them on it, but most news outlets simply regurgitate whatever a company or official says.

PPL did not have interval data (15min usage) in their billing system for the days between 12/22 and 12/26. Without usage they were unable to calculate invoices and charges. This also overlapped the cold weather around Christmas, which included extreme spot market prices. The data has been recovered, but there are still issues, not sure what is taking so long to resolve.

PPL is in the business of electric distribution. They do provide electric supply to those that opt not to select a 3rd party supplier. Their strategy to set utility supply rates involve purchases in April and October, with various terms and percentages. These costs are averaged and trued up every six months. Needless to say, October was a terrible time to secure commodity, hence the high price to compare.

3rd party suppliers for residential customers is typically a bad idea. Most people sign up and forget to re-shop at the end of the contract. The supplier is not responsible to return your account to the utility supply, but rather starts billing at a variable rate. This is all spelled out in the contact, but everyone wants to file a complaint. The responsibility is on you. I encourage most people not to shop for their home.

6

heili t1_j6s5st9 wrote

I see you've never dealt with Duquesne Light.

They will send a shutoff notice dated the day after the payment date which gives ten days to pay the bill before they'll shut off service. They're also notorious for back-dating notices. People get a notice that's postmarked the day prior to them receiving it, but the notice itself is dated for a week or more prior.

They will also leave shutoff notices that are back dated on people's doors after the date they state they will shut off service has already passed. Not mailed, just left there. Sometimes they tape them to doors, sometimes they shove them in mailboxes, sometimes they just throw them on the ground.

They are absolutely a shit company.

2

DocCarlson t1_j6s6h6b wrote

Some people can probably sue for undue hardship they caused

8

HahaWeee t1_j6s7saj wrote

Ppl is very silly. My bill was pretty high in Dec and magicaly in Jan I used 1300 kWh less than last year

There's no way I used 1000 less in January than December

5

PocketSpaghettios t1_j6s7uaz wrote

My house is 1690ft^2. We try to keep the temp around 68°F. We're gonna get new windows because all of ours are garbage, but that's gonna be a $10k expense 🤮 our furnace is also from the 70s so I'm sure it's not super efficient. I want to add more insulation to the attic too but my partner and my dad don't think it will help (I don't think it could hurt but what do I know)

10

BeerExchange t1_j6s7z9v wrote

I've seen the same with electricity. I went out of my way to make my house more energy efficient through insulating and air sealing. As a result we used like 15-20% less electricity but our bill was $10-20 more than last year because of electric rates going up by like 40%.

18

fireXmeetXgasoline t1_j6s8cf6 wrote

I got this email yesterday:

“To our Valued Customers,

You have a right to expect excellent service from your electric utility. We know that delivering reliable electricity – keeping the lights on for you – must be matched by exceptional customer service. In recent weeks, we’ve fallen short of this standard in both our billing and responsiveness to customers.

Today, I’m reaching out to address these issues, including estimated bills, to share steps we’re taking to support our customers, and to explain what it means for you. I also want to take this opportunity to address higher prices for energy supply, which have been the primary driver of higher bills. While we don’t control these energy supply costs, we are committed to doing what we can to help you in this challenging time.

While estimated billing and higher prices are unrelated, together they have fueled a sharp increase in customer calls, resulting in long wait times for many who have tried to contact us. If you received an estimated bill or have had difficulty reaching our call center, I apologize. Simply put, you deserve better, and we are committed to regaining your trust.

Actions we’re taking to support our customers:

First and foremost, we’ve resolved the technical issue that resulted in a significant number of bills that were based on estimated electricity usage. This issue involved bills sent from December 20 through January 9. Estimates based on historical usage may have been higher or lower than actual usage. If this impacted you, you have either already received a corrected bill with actual usage or an adjustment on your next monthly bill to ensure you only pay for the electricity you used. By fixing the technical issue, we have restored customers’ access to detailed usage information online at pplelectric.com. We will not shut off power to residential and small-business customers for non-payment through March 31. We are waiving all late fees in January and February. Any fees already charged in January will be credited to customer accounts. We continue to offer payment plans and assistance programs that can help if you are struggling to pay your electric bill. This includes self-service options that are available to you online at pplelectric.com/billhelp or by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL. We are adding more agents to answer your calls and reduce wait times.”

There was more afterward telling me how to compare prices and shit.

This strikes me as a very “oopsie doodle!” and not genuine.

10

Mor_Tearach t1_j6s9blv wrote

WOW? It feels like the company is just, plain making crap UP at this point. And PPL sorta slid it in on us- we DID get a notification there would be a FORTY PERCENT increase 40???? So it transpires we can do simply nothing to counter it like deliberately use a lot less energy.

Feels like they're going to charge us anyway.

13

Wickersaltlamp t1_j6sa5fe wrote

Yeah, that's not a huge house, so the windows should make a huge difference, unfortunately, for your wallet. More insulation should help too. Not sure why it wouldn't. My house has a furnace from the 90s and insulation from the 70s, windows are good as far as keeping their seals. I'm thinking of adding all new insulation. The finished part of my basement has no floor insulation and I think it's a big problem.

2

eviljelloman t1_j6saunq wrote

People who say shit like “accidentally”, acting like there’s some sort of conspiracy, are fucking morons who have no idea how janky the systems at utilities are, or how incompetent their employees are.

This is a good old fashioned cock-up. To be malicious or sinister simply doesn’t make sense because they won’t keep the money and it just costs them money to fix. Stop assuming stupid shit because it feeds a narrative you’ve bought into.

13

Catvac-u-um_adnase t1_j6sbp2j wrote

PPL said help, including payment plans, can be found at pplelectric.com/billhelp or by calling PPL at 1-800-342-5775.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has initiated a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding unusually high bills recently received by customers served by PPL Electric Utilities, along with the accuracy and integrity of PPL's billing practices.

Edit

The phone number provided has a recording due to the number of calls.

Edit

Average wait time for calls are 4 hours

Edit

Programs offered

OnTrack agency can answer your questions. Tri County Community Action 1514 Derry Street Harrisburg, PA 17104 717-232-9757 | PPLONTRACK@cactricounty.org Proof of income necessary

OnTrack offers a lower fixed monthly payment to income-eligible customers. Are you eligible? Check out the income table below. Then fill out our quick and easy online application. A specialist will review your application and let you know if you’re enrolled.

LIHEAP — bill must be overdue for weeks or months to apply

LIHEAP offers two types of grants: cash and crisis. You may be eligible for both. You don’t need an overdue heating bill to be eligible. You can apply whether you rent or own your home.

Stardard Offer PPL —change energy provider as PPL remains middle man/broker

energy education— ask to explain bill and/or request an audit if bill doesn’t seem correct

Edit

LIHEAP and Ontrack both use a income chart for eligibility

7

Semi-Hemi-Demigod t1_j6scfvj wrote

Based on the timing of the loss of data, I'm pretty sure they screwed up their on-call scheduling around Christmas. Someone was supposed to get paged who didn't or didn't see it and they lost the data over the long weekend.

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klauskervin t1_j6sf6r2 wrote

People think I'm old school paying with checks but the fact is the law provides you significantly more rights and protections paying by check via USPS than any automated payment system.

4

Kabloosh75 t1_j6shfv3 wrote

May explain why my electric bill doubled for no reason.

3

2d_is_a_pimple t1_j6sj6f7 wrote

Didn't they also screw up meters for December?

Same bastards who left my family in the dark for like 2 months after Hurricane Lee because they straight up "Forgot they didn't get to everyone yet."

I hate PPL with a burning passion man. But being in an apartment I don't think we get much of a choice...

Gotta say though, I'm smelling a lawsuit on the horizon for this circus of a company. I am fully convinced this incompetence is intentional and 100% to gain more profits.

5

MomsSpecialFriend t1_j6sjami wrote

Everyone I know is freaking out about usage. We recognize the price went up but why would usage jump for every single customer to beyond anything they’ve ever used before? We are having an extremely mild winter.

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Modestkilla t1_j6smodw wrote

I got a bill for two months, they forgot to bill me, $950 in the past I was paying in the $150-$200 range. On top of that I’m paying around $600-$1000 a month right now for oil heat. Shit is completely out of control.

5

OIK2 t1_j6snpve wrote

So glad that I escaped central PA.

0

CriticalMammal t1_j6ss20c wrote

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but with UGI you can enroll in a payment assistance program to get an even bill every month.

Mine stays at $160 a month year round based on their calculations. You might pay a little more in off seasons but there's no surprises from what I've noticed.

1

Atrocious_1 t1_j6ssxgq wrote

Keep saying this is why all the utilities need to be nationalized but I'm sure some idiot is going to barge in here defending this kind of gouging

4

theSG-17 t1_j6stjng wrote

Utilities should not be allowed to be operated privately. They should all be owned by the government at either the municipal, state, or national level.

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TeeKrauty t1_j6sunmt wrote

My ppl bill is 370. For 1600 square foot house. Oil heat. 🤦‍♀️ how??????????? It was 200 last year and i used less this year. Rip off. How are people affording this???

5

sara128 t1_j6sy5gf wrote

Everyone is talking about PPL, but I was way more shocked when I got my UGI bill! My electric bill was $88, not too bad. But UGI was $164! And my bill for last month UGI was only $40... (1100 Sq foot house, heat set between 65-69)

3

PregnantSuperman t1_j6syubj wrote

You want to give any examples of what you mean in the case of the PUC? I'm not coming at you, I just think it's lazy and cynical to automatically dismiss something unless you have evidence to back it up. Admittedly I don't know much about the PUC so if there really is an example of a conflict of interest in action I'd be interested in knowing.

3

Atrocious_1 t1_j6t3lyq wrote

Specific examples of PPL and the PUC, no. However there's been multiple historic examples, plus the fact that when the rate increases were first proposed thousands of citizens, businesses, and legislators wrote in saying this would be detrimental and the PUC basically told all of us "too bad lol"

3

Incrarulez t1_j6t5tqq wrote

Don't contact the PUC first.

Contact PPL directly and log everything.

Source: I contacted the PUC over frequent (> 3x/week) brief power outages. Their policy is fir the consumer to first take it up with the service provider (PPL) directly then report back to the PUC if needed.

3

justasque t1_j6t6c5f wrote

See if the power company will do an energy audit to help you figure out which improvements give the most bang for our buck. Plus those kits where you put plastic over your windows really do make a difference. Also, thermal curtains help. We have kind of gotten away from the old ways, and with an older house and colder weather, they are worth rediscovering. (And I’m with you on the attic insulation, if there isn’t a decent amount already.)

4

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6t6ptw wrote

i mean, thats not really how it works with heating fuels. there is always competition. and if not, there are likely dozens of propane companies that would undercut them if their prices were that inflated and would be more than happy to convert your shit over to burn propane.

prices are high in the area because prices are high everywhere.

0

thatdood87 t1_j6t72ob wrote

Wow. They fucked me up too. I put plastic over my windows in beginning of December and didn't put the heat up above 80 degrees and my bill was sooooooooooo high, like double what it usually is.

4

justasque t1_j6t86d0 wrote

Do they have an option to view your bill online and pay online, rather than calling to pay? (I have a different provider so I don’t know about PPL.). I can also pay online thru my bank, if I know the amount.

1

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6tb0qe wrote

id definitely consider doing some of the film to hold yourself over. its not the greatest looking stuff, but who cares. it will save you hundreds just dealing with it the rest of this year.

that or even get some quality full coverage curtains for the original windows, and getting in the habit of keeping your blinds closed when you arent in the room.

we have a pellet stove, but we can literally cut the amount of fuel we burn in half by keeping blinds shut vs open.

i know you didnt ask for this advice, but it might help you out.

2

zerooze t1_j6tg49t wrote

This is why I never do automatic payments. Computer errors happen all the time. They happened to customers where I work too. It's not hard to just pay your bill once a month.

1

Tapdncn4lyfe2 t1_j6thza9 wrote

I had to do this and mine came down to $171. I bought my new house in November of 2022 and got my first bill at the end of December and it was around $350. I was like how in the hell did we use that much heat. We keep the house at 68 degrees..

1

hoptimus-prime t1_j6thzck wrote

Attic insulation can be a big saver especially if you're able to plug up any decent sized holes that may have arose from animals or wear/tear. A colleague of mine recouped his investment on insulating the attic in about two years!

2

InsecureVandal t1_j6tifyk wrote

We are getting slaughtered here in PA. The raising of rates broad range needs to stop.

6

trying-to-be-kind t1_j6tll2u wrote

I can believe the data cock up is a random IT mistake, but PPL's billing practice in response to it is suspect. If they had responded to customers by sending them a corrected bill and/or notifying them billing would be temp. delayed while they fixed the problem, you wouldn't have people so up in arms crying conspiracy.

Instead, PPL's response is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pay us anyways. Yes, it's going to cost them to fix their mistake, but the extra revenue its customers are temporarily floating them acts as a payday loan (of sorts) to fund the fix. PPL can then refund their customers at their leisure - sans interest, of course.

4

Is_this_social_media t1_j6tss65 wrote

So this is why I got a profusely apologetic email yesterday…. I was like “what did they do now?”

Note: I don’t have auto pmt

1

Kristin2349 t1_j6tza6f wrote

They can’t immediately correct the issue because it isn’t a simple billing issue it is a massive IT issue…IT has been outsourced as has CS. So while customers are waiting on hold for hours to talk to someone about their bill when they finally get through they’ll be speaking to someone in Trinidad.

5

moon_slav t1_j6tzu4z wrote

wtf are they doing? They almost have to be in financial trouble with this + them taking an advance from every customer in December and Janruary

1

ticktocktoe t1_j6u0tig wrote

You do realize this is how most companies without automated meters still do things right? (like MetEd down in Berks/york/etc..). People come out and read a meter every 3 months - they guess for 2 months - and then adjust.

1

IamSauerKraut t1_j6u1baf wrote

>my natural gas bill

No, we are not discussing in general "heating fuels." Natural gas is pretty specific and it is piped by UGI thru pipes placed by UGI to houses occupied by UGI customers in a relatively large area serviced exclusively by UGI.

0

Mijbr090490 t1_j6u2za3 wrote

Just reached out to Scott Perry.

>Hi, Im sure you are busy with the whole cell phone debacle and planning the next insurrection, but I'd like to ask you to take some time out of your busy schedule to tackle some real issues that are affecting your constituents. Recently PPL had major internal issues causing electric bills to skyrocket. The bill estimation, which the PUC allows, supposedly uses historic data to estimate the usage. I'm not sure how, in one of the warmest Januarys in recorded history, that electric bills are so high. Just today PPL took a 3 month advance on auto payments. This is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. I ask you, as one of your constituents, to do everything in your power to correct this issue. I know it is a tall order between election denying and thinking about Hunter Biden, but Pennsylvanians deserve better.

15

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6u3qfn wrote

dude, you are flat out wrong. whenever there is not competition for a utility (including natural gas), the rates are literally regulated by the government and they have to request price hikes. This includes UGI.

the idea that they are inflating the prices because there is no competition is straight up wrong. argue it all you want, it wont make you right. i cant spell it out any clearer.

1

PADemD t1_j6u5bu6 wrote

Why is PPL doing estimated bills? I have Met-Ed, and they installed new meters which record actual usage. No one reads our meters anymore, and we do not get estimated bills. Since the new meters were installed, our bills are much lower.

4

PADemD t1_j6u6eef wrote

My last Met-Ed bill for December was $124.16 for a 1200 sq ft, 3-bedroom home, with oil heat and electric hot water heater. One of the bedrooms is an attic bedroom not connected to the main heating system (space heater).

1

Mijbr090490 t1_j6u78cj wrote

Attic insulation will help tremendously as well as air sealing the attic. Fwiw, even old gas furnaces maintain about 80% efficiency, so unless you go to a condensing gas furnace you won't see much improvement on the electric bill. If I were to upgrade it would definitely be to a high efficiency unit.

1

Mijbr090490 t1_j6uanfo wrote

That's crazy. We have a similar setup, but it's just a ranch and we don't use space heaters. Ours was 240 bucks. I'm really trying to be conscious of my usage now, but still at 8 bucks a day for electric.

1

AiragonXIX t1_j6ue4rv wrote

They're incompetent if they're not total scum.

1

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6ueq72 wrote

>Ah, so, you've dropped your propane angle?

Ah, so, you've dropped your monopoly angle?

the propane angle was another way to explain why your monopoly statement was silly. if nat gas was inflated to any meaningful degree there are a ton of propane companies that would be a direct competition to natural gas customers. you seemed to not understand that, so i went elsewhere to show you another reason you were wrong.

>regulated by the PUC

so what you are saying is that propane is not regulated by the puc, but natural gas is? thanks for proving my point. propane is not regulated because there is no monopoly on it. there is a fierce competition that keeps the price low.

natural gas is regulated. so your comment about it being a monopoly that allows inflated gas prices... while reddit upvote bait... is simply wrong.

1

Top_File_8547 t1_j6ug63n wrote

Our gas bill dropped by almost half when we got a new furnace in 2008. It’s 92% efficient. That’s probably your cheapest choice. We also had shitty windows until last year. The bill has gone down since the windows too but not as much as the furnace.

1

hedgerow_hank t1_j6ugo4g wrote

Weird how that always works out in the house's favor, huh?

3

Ambitious-Intern-928 t1_j6uhbot wrote

Care to elaborate? To my understanding the old "postmarked" thing went away with the rise in electronic billing and companies must actually RECEIVE the check by the due date, or they can charge a late fee. The USPS has become notoriously unreliable over the last several years. I REFUSE to mail a check because it has EVERYTHING someone would need to set up fraudulent transfers, so when I had a bill that needed to be paid via USPS last year I sent a money order certified mail, it took 6 weeks to be recieved. It was NEVER scanned as delivered as the USPS was no help, they said "oh it probably got delivered and they forgot to scan it."

3

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6uiz47 wrote

keep pretending that ugi is inflating prices because they have a mono... ohh, im sorry. a lock on gas because they are the only person that can provide it thus are able to inflate their prices.

again. for the dim witted....

ugi cannot raise their prices despite having a mono... oops. a lock on their product, because it is a heavily regulated product.

you are wrong. have a nice day.

1

ho_merjpimpson t1_j6unnuc wrote

> UGI pretty much has a lock on natural gas in this area.

=they pretty much have a monopoly

>No competition to temper the prices.

= they can inflate the prices

>2 things in your sentence which I did not state.

you might not know that you are stating these things, but you are.

>Is UGI paying you to spam the sub with your garbage?

you got me. hail corporate.

2

highwayking324 t1_j6uuaz3 wrote

Just me and my dog and my PPL bill was $550 last month 😂

1

Mor_Tearach t1_j6uvy73 wrote

Whoa. My elderly mother's oil bill was 350 last winter ( SMALL apartment), last bill this year 700.

This is ALL out of control. How in hell are we supposed to PAY this? All of us. I remember seeing what they're paying in Texas and thinking " Wow glad that's not us " It's getting there.

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bad185 t1_j6v07hw wrote

Are you on budget billing by chance? Mine was $200 higher, almost had a heart attack! But it was because I was billed $200 less than my actual 2022 usage so I had a budget shortfall.

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LowPermission9 t1_j6v1pw3 wrote

This is why I will NEVER sign up for any auto payments out of my bank account.

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bad185 t1_j6v365b wrote

I called UGI about it, and they said they reconcile the budgets at the end of the 12th month of the cycle. My mortgage does the same, although they do offer the option to pay monthly or all at once. UGI didn't.

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klauskervin t1_j6v4w2t wrote

> To my understanding the old "postmarked" thing went away with the rise in electronic billing and companies must actually RECEIVE the check by the due date, or they can charge a late fee.

I've never had this issue they've always honored the post mark date.

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QuickNature t1_j6vgzat wrote

Attic insulation will help a lot as heat rises. The more you slow the escape the of heat from your house the better. This is also works the opposite in summer as well if you run AC. It will reduce how much heat can flow into your house.

Windows are also a huge factor that effects the transfer of heat. If they are single pane, you are hemorrhaging head outside. Double pane with good weather stripping will make a huge difference. Those plus the insulation would have a larger net effect than buying a new furnace.

The last thing I would upgrade is the furnace. They are surprisingly efficient, even if they are older. Still should update it if you can afford it because efficiency has increased, but the windows and insulation will help the most.

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106473 t1_j6vlhxy wrote

Feel like this is on purpose

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Squashey t1_j6wbgql wrote

I also saw the same huge cost increases versus same time period last year.

Found my usage was about the same but PPL has nearly double their rate per kWh since then.

Politicians sitting idly by as we get manhandled by cost increases is not going to end well.

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Mor_Tearach t1_j6wnj44 wrote

Same and we also live way out in the middle of nowhere so have a well. Woman who helps us with a very elderly mother lives in a small town . Both she and her husband work full time and pick up extra hours when they can.

Rent has almost doubled, water bill through the roof and now their electric bill looks like a mortgage payment. She began using a food bank run out of a local church, she's frantic poor nice thing.

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Mor_Tearach t1_j6wpc4c wrote

This is such a huge conversation to keep going- apparently PPL is now designated " Buy " on the market. Looking around, claim seems to be higher energy source costs all around.

But. Something smells around as bad as the road kill deer PA ceased to do anything about citing ' budget '. You use the same Wh but are billed as actually using more?

What bugs me is energy companies like natural gas escaping free from taxes, threat from those companies being " Well if you tax us we'll just stop creating Pennsylvania jobs ". Also nonsense. Gas is here. What are they going to do, tunnel in from Maryland?

Also infuriating, price gouging is only illegal if it's done when there's a declared national emergency. This is just crazy.

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basement-thug t1_j6wq93o wrote

This is why PPL is the only bill I don't have set up on autopay.

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Mor_Tearach t1_j6wqnjj wrote

Yes, wish we'd a. Looked into geothermal b. Invested in solar panels and c. Got serious about a windmill. Very small company not far from us invested in a windmill and now sells power back to the grid.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6wut8n wrote

Unable to counter my specific comments, you insert gratuitous commentary that supports only your narrative. I need not temper my comments just because you want me to state something different. Nor does what your latest comment subjugate my point to your narrative.

Fact: the lack of competition places UGI in a position where they, and they alone, can determine the market price. Is it a monopoly? Technically, no. You do not deny that point - the lack of competition - when you describe the propane situation.

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Squashey t1_j6x12cv wrote

We are to write messages/reach out to our state politicians asking to look into why our critical infrastructure bills are doubled over a year.

I have done so and ask others to as well. I find it hard to believe that PPLs cost structure has gotten so out of hand that a doubling of their prices is warranted.

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moravian t1_j6xa51x wrote

Interesting my entire current bill just vanished from the PPL website! It's not paid or unpaid just not there at all.

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forty6and2oo t1_j6xtria wrote

So am I understanding this correctly? They want people to pay the wrong bill which is essentially a free fucking loan to them and then they pay us back later? My bill is literally double what is normally is.

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No_Analyst_9131 t1_j6y5ai0 wrote

This kind of crap is why I don't bother with autopay.

It really isn't hard to remember to pay your bill every month, not to mention you will see immediately if there are any wayward charges that appear, vs never seeing things like the above until they overdraft your bank account. It also seems too easy for the utility company to "accidentally" withdraw multiple months worth of utilities, and then of course take months to actually pay you pack the overage.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j708ied wrote

>PPL once took $20.000 instead of $200 ( and no we didn't have it, hence the shocker when trying to use our debit card ).

At that point, install solar and batteries and go off grid.

I'm honestly removing all payment info from ppl, and using my bank to pay them from here on out, to many issues.

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