Though Peco promises its price will decline Jan. 2, alternative suppliers are still offering fixed rates that can beat Peco's 2012 price by nearly 10 percent.
Despite promises of savings and the marketing efforts of regulators and suppliers, the public remains distrustful.
"This is a relatively new concept," said Richard J. Hudson Jr., the state chairman of the Retail Energy Supply Association. "There is some degree of customer trepidation."
Robert F. Powelson, chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, expressed frustration at a Nov. 10 hearing on electric competition that more customers haven't switched.
According to surveys presented to the PUC, many customers don't understand the market or they're worried they'll be penalized for switching. Some are not moved by the amount of the savings.
Under the state's electric choice law, utilities are solely "wires and poles" companies that distribute electricity. Customers are free to shop for a power supplier, whose charges make up about two-thirds of their monthly bill.
Utilities such as Peco earn their profits only on the transmission and distribution fees they get from all customers, regardless who generates the power.
For customers who don't switch, the PUC requires utilities to provide power without adding a markup - that's the default rate, also called the "price to compare." Though it contains no markup, Peco's price is higher than those offered by competitors because it must buy power through a combination of long-term contracts and spot-market purchases for an uncertain number of customers.
