SPONSORED BY

Friday, April 26, 2024

Good morning. The Federal Reserve meets next week to debate the direction of interest rates. It's unclear what the  panel will decide,  but the outlook for rate cuts grew cloudy yesterday following reports of persistent inflation.

PUC tweaks deal over PPL billing issues

Following a flurry of comments from customers and consumer advocates, state utility regulators altered the penalties imposed on electric utility PPL Electric Utilities over billing issues that led to overcharges for some customers, among other problems.

• In a 3-2 vote yesterday, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a settlement agreement requiring PPL to provide more reporting on what went wrong, including details on how the Allentown-based utility calculated the $1 million in refunds it has already provided to customers.

• In another change, the settlement agreement now calls on PPL to contribute $1 million into a customer hardship fund, in lieu of what was previously a $1 million civil penalty.

• "We find such revisions necessary to sufficiently address the harm to the public, to ensure these events do not recur, and to provide impacted customers with adequate remedies," PUC chair  Stephen DeFrank said in a statement.

• The settlement agreement also prevents PPL from passing on to customers the $16 million in additional costs the company absorbed to fix the billing issues, which affected bills for nearly 800,000 customers.

• "We appreciate the Commission considering this matter," a PPL spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We will review the order once it becomes available. In the meantime, we will continue to build upon the significant work we already have done to support our customers, continuously improve our service and prevent a billing issue like this from occurring again."

What was the issue: It originated in late 2022 when PPL discovered that data from customer meters was not making it from meter-related software to the company's customer service system.

• As a result, thousands of customers received estimated bills for December 2022.

• A combination of errors led to what the PPL described as "wildly inaccurate bills," with some customers receiving no bills at all.

• In response to customer complaints, the PUC began to investigate in early 2023.

• The PUC proposed an initial settlement in November and received more than 160 comments in response from customers, consumer advocates and other parties.

What's next: PPL has 20 days to decide whether to withdraw from the modified settlement once it has been drafted and served, which could take a few days, according to PUC spokesperson Nils Hagen-Frederiksen.

• The three commissioners voting for it were DeFrank, Ralph Yanora and Kathryn Zerfuss. 

• Voting against were PUC vice chair Kimberly Barrow and John F. Coleman Jr. 

• Barrow supported the changes but said more information and investigation would help to determine whether the settlement goes far enough, Hagen-Frederiksen said. 

• Coleman noted that a strong civil penalty serves as an incentive for utilities to prevent future problems, Hagen-Frederiksen added.

In other news: The PUC voted unanimously to suspend and investigate a proposed rate increase for customers of Met-Ed and other Pennsylvania subsidiaries of Ohio-based FirstEnergy.

• The utility, which serves about 2.1 million customers in the state, requested higher rates earlier this month.

• It is common for the PUC to hit "pause" and scrutinize rate-hike requests more closely.

• FirstEnergy has said higher rates are needed to upgrade the power grid and to support a new incentive program for electric vehicles. 

• The average increases would be 9.2% for residential customers, 3.9% for commercial customers and 0.5% for industrial customers.

Advertisement

Our Intellectual Property Group understands the intersection between law and technology, and has experience working closely with multinational companies, manufacturers, franchises, and small and medium-sized business in legal issues including:

• Intellectual Property counseling and strategy

• Intellectual Property enforcement

• U.S. and foreign patent and trademark preparation and prosecution

• Patent and trademark portfolio management

• Patent and trademark clearances

• Proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Sign up now for updates »

Quick takes

WHO'S STEPPING UP: Keith Weller. He has been named executive vice president of Superior Walls of America, a manufacturer of custom precast concrete foundations based in East Earl Township, Lancaster County.

• Weller has worked at Superior Walls since 2005, most recently as vice president and CFO.

• Weller will continue as CFO, with internal help, as he takes up his new role, which is also new for the company, according to a company spokesperson.

• "His impressive accomplishments in financial, personnel and corporate management are invaluable to the company's growth and success," Superior Walls CEO Andrew Zimmerman said in a statement.

Keith Weller

WHERE'S THE MONEY: Solar. The federal government this week announced millions of dollars in grant funding to solar projects in Pennsylvania. The biggest chunk is a $156 million grant to cover installation of residential solar panels and battery storage in low-income areas. Additional funds for solar are flowing to farms and businesses through a grant program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture

• The funding for residential solar is coming to the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority out of a fund administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

• The authority is partnering with the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp., a nonprofit banking affiliate of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. 

• The money is expected to benefit about 14,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities statewide, according to the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

• Homeowners tapping into the program will be able to select solar installers from a list of approved contractors, according to a DEP spokesperson.

• The USDA program is funding the purchase and installation of the following solar projects in Central Pennsylvania:

  • AR Property Group LP: $48,265 for the real estate holding company in Gordonville, Lancaster County to add a 31-kilowatt solar system.

  • Brandon Smoker Energy LLC: $702,108 for a 712-kilowatt solar system on a barn roof in Lebanon County, where Brandon Smoker is leasing space.

  • Colebrook Road Solar LLC: $443,102 for a 515-kilowatt solar system on a barn roof in Lancaster County.

  • D.S. Machine LLC: $593,500 for the company to add a 599-kilowatt solar system at its premises in Gordonville. Leacock Enterprises LLC has agreed to purchase power produced by the solar array.

  • Eric Gemmill: $137,150 for a 116-kilowatt solar system at an egg farm in Delta, York County.

  • Inspired Physical Therapy LLC: $80,000 for the Mechanicsburg-area PT practice to add a 64-kilowatt solar system. 

  • J. Hubler Landscaping Inc.: $38,495 for the Lancaster County business to add a 24-kilowatt solar system.

  • Kelly Cadillac: $199,750 for the Lancaster-area auto dealer to add a 196-kilowatt solar system. 

  • Harold Kready: $27,450 for a 32-kilowatt system for his wheat and soybean farm in the Manheim area.

  • David J. Kulp: $128,723 for a 124-kilowatt system at his family-owned dairy farm in the Manheim area.

  • Lester R. Summers Inc.: $69,965 for the Ephrata-area trucking company to add a 59-kilowatt solar system.

  • R Farm Poultry LLC: $98,450 for the Paradise-area poultry farm to add an 83-kilowatt solar system. 

  • SNM Property Management LLC: $63,271 for the commercial leasing company in Lebanon County to add a 62-kilowatt solar system.

  • Merle D. Stoltzfus: $88,785 to add a 67-kilowatt solar system at his Lititz-area farm, which grows corn, wheat and beans.

  • Sun Motor Imports: $158,053 for the Mechanicsburg-area auto dealership to add a 186-kilowatt solar system. 

  • The Vineyard at Grandview: $67,600 for the Lancaster County winery to add a 46-kilowatt solar system. 

  • Wayne Road LLC: $92,430 for the Franklin County leasing company to add a 115-kilowatt solar system.

  • Weaver Homestead Farm: $158,109 for a 178-kilowatt solar system at a dairy farm in New Holland.

  • Aaron Wenger: $54,950  for Wenger to add a 47-kilowatt solar system at Wenger Systems,  a tire sales and service company in New Holland.

  • Jay T. Zimmerman Jr.: $91,408 for a 71-kilowatt solar system at his family-owned crop and poultry farm in the Ephrata area.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED: Here are the lead stories from biznewsPA over the past week.

• New funds aim to chip away at childcare shortage.

• WellSpan breaks ground on first of three 'mini hospitals.'

• York County adopts new financing tool for green projects.

• Professional licensing rules for ex-convicts falter near finish line.

• Feds target hiring practices at Sheetz.

Got questions? Got feedback? Interested in sponsoring biznewsPA?
Contact us at newsletters@biznewsPA.com

If a friend forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.

Compiled and written by Joel Berg