{"id":3172,"date":"2023-02-21T11:38:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T17:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/?p=3172"},"modified":"2023-03-01T16:05:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T22:05:43","slug":"ppl-high-bill-mistakes-hit-customers-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/ppl-high-bill-mistakes-hit-customers-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"PPL High Bill Mistakes Hit  Customers Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>PA PUC Investigating High PPL Bill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"A high bill from PPL for December has affected nearly 800,000 customers. Find out what your options are and what the PA PUC is doing to put things right.\" class=\"wp-image-3190\" title=\"Angry Customers - PA PUC Investigating High PPL Bill\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill-230x345.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill-350x525.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill-480x720.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/high-PPL-bill.jpg 483w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption><center><em>If you got stung with a high bill from PPL for December, you&#8217;re not along. Find out what your options are and what the PA PUC is doing to help customers.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This past December over 800,000 customers received high utility bills. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/companies\/ppl\">PPL<\/a><\/strong> is claiming it was due to an \u201cunspecified technical error\u201d that they\u2019ve since corrected. And now, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.energychoicematters.com\/stories\/20230131a.html\">Pennsylvania Public Utility Commision is investigating.<\/a> With customer service lines clogged, and <strong>PPL<\/strong> still expecting you to pay your  bill, what are you supposed to do? We\u2019re here to explain what\u2019s happening and how you can find better service from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/read-reviews\">reputable electricity provider<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>How Did This Happen? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/6abc.com\/ppl-electric-customers-high-bills-pennsylvania-public-utility-commission-puc-investigation\/12757316\/\"><strong>PPL<\/strong><\/a> claims the issue happened because a technical error made them unable to read meters. So, several customers were sent bills based on past usage. However, the bills customers received were huge, and in some cases much higher than their actual useage. Pennsylvania allows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puc.pa.gov\/General\/consumer_ed\/pdf\/Consumer_Rights_Responsibilities.pdf\">utilities to estimate bills<\/a>. But they must correct on the next bill if they overcharge, or allow the customer to self-report their usage. When customers were calling to report their actual metered usage, phone wait times were <a href=\"https:\/\/6abc.com\/ppl-electric-customers-high-bills-pennsylvania-public-utility-commission-puc-investigation\/12757316\/\">over an hour<\/a>.&nbsp; In addition, customers found an extra 5% system improvement charge on their already high bills. Ironically, such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puc.pa.gov\/general\/consumer_ed\/pdf\/DSIC_FS.pdf\">system improvement charges<\/a> &#8220;are designed to provide ratepayers with improved service quality&#8221; by raising additional funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>PPL Billing Mistakes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately for their customers, <strong>PPL <\/strong>doesn&#8217;t have a good track record lately when it comes to billing. This isn\u2019t the first time they\u2019ve failed. Just back in April, over <a href=\"https:\/\/localtoday.news\/pa\/ppl-found-fault-with-poor-data-cleanup-for-billing-chaos-earlier-this-year-affecting-thousands-of-customers-lawyer-says-97666.html\">12,000 customers received bad bills<\/a> due to an attempted \u201cdata cleanup\u201d. In August, the PUC found that <strong>PPL<\/strong> failed to \u201cprovide adequate, efficient, safe and reasonable service under Section 1501 of the Public Utility Code, as well as comply with provisions of Chapter 56 of the PUC\u2019s regulations concerning billing frequency\u201d. The PUC approved a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puc.pa.gov\/press-release\/2021\/puc-approves-settlement-with-ppl-electric-utilities-corporation-regarding-improper-billing-practices\">settlement for $5,000<\/a>. They also ordered the utility company to take action to safeguard against future billing issues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hopefully this time, the PUC can do more to help Pennsylvania citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>What to do With Your High PPL Bill<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PPL <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wgal.com\/article\/ppl-full-statement-on-puc-investigation-into-billing\/42731112\">responded to the investigation<\/a>, stating that a large part of the high bills were due to energy supply cost. They even encouraged customers to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/electricity-rates\">shop for a better rate<\/a>. However, they are taking some steps due to the high amount of estimated bills. <strong>PPL <\/strong>stated they would be waiving late fees and avoiding power shutoffs for nonpayment until March 31. <br><br>What does this mean for you if you received one of these bills? You can pay it, or call <strong>PPL<\/strong> with your actual meter readings to have the bill adjusted. If you choose to pay, <strong>PPL<\/strong> is crediting any overcharges to future bills. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puc.pa.gov\/press-release\/2023\/puc-launches-comprehensive-investigation-into-billing-issues-impacting-ppl-electric-customers\">PUC<\/a> stated if you feel <strong>PPL<\/strong> is not handling your concerns appropriately, contact the PUC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) at 1-800-692-7380. You should also reach out to them if you cannot reach <strong>PPL<\/strong> customer service, or if they do not respond to your complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Find a Better Electricity Provider Today<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After multiple billing mistakes from <strong>PPL<\/strong>, it&#8217;s time for you to find a trustworthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/companies\">PA power provider<\/a>. And with spring in the air, electricity prices are decreasing. Don&#8217;t put up with <strong>PPL <\/strong>any longer than you have to! You can shop for a better rate, read reviews, and secure a new plan today! Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/\">https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PA PUC Investigating High PPL Bill This past December over 800,000 customers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[50,2,3,97,54,55,9,13,65,48,105],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3172"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3207,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3172\/revisions\/3207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}