HARRISBURG, PA − June 23, 2026 − Senate Democratic Policy Committee Chair Nick Miller (D-14) hosted a policy hearing examining solutions to lower consumer electric bills, alongside Senator Kane and Senator Malone. Experts provided testimony regarding strategies to achieve cost-savings solutions for residential ratepayers in Pennsylvania.
“Electricity should be affordable, reliable, and available to every Pennsylvanian,” said Senator Nick Miller. “Families, seniors, and small businesses across our Commonwealth are facing growing pressure from rising energy costs, and they deserve action. Today’s hearing focused on identifying real-world solutions to increase energy supply, modernize our infrastructure, improve efficiency, and protect ratepayers. Pennsylvania has the resources and expertise to lead on energy policy, and our goal must be simple: lower costs, strengthen reliability, and put consumers first.”
“Pennsylvanians work hard for their money, and they deserve to know they’re getting a fair deal when it comes to their electric bills,” said Senator John Kane. “This hearing is about finding real, common-sense solutions to lower energy costs and protect consumers from unfair and exploitative practices. As legislators, it’s our responsibility to make sure the rules work for the people, not against them, and to ensure every Pennsylvanian is protected from deceptive business practices.”
“The reality is PPL Electric, the electric provider in our region, has seen a steadily growing profit margin since 2019,” said Senator James Malone. “I think we need to be asking hard questions about why they are consistently asking for rate increases when they have the ability to invest back into their systems and spare ratepayers. I was pleased to join today’s hearing with my colleagues to ask these questions and explore ways we can lower electric bills for families in Lancaster and across Pennsylvania.”
Vice-Chair Kim Barrow, Commissioner of Pennsylvania PUC, testified on the position electricity customers are facing today and the drastic changes in the energy landscape with the influx of new demand.
“Rising electricity bills are a national issue with the average residential customer price jumping 10.2% to 18.8 cents/kWh in March from 17.1 cents/kWh a year earlier,” said Barrow. “The supply portion of the electric bill is being driven by many factors: slow interconnection of new generation, retirement of baseload generation, increasing high voltage transmission builds, and the last three PJM capacity auctions which cleared 22% higher year over year for 3 years. Those capacity prices rose due to data center demand in PJM which is forecast to reach 32 GW by 2030.”
Alex Charlton, RESA State Chair for Government Relations at Constellation, stated that additional steps should be taken to ensure the Commonwealth remains a leader in both consumer protection and market innovation.
“We recognize that the competitive energy market is not perfect, just like other markets in consumer goods and services are imperfect,” said Charlton. “Keeping bad actors out and welcoming good actors in will help ensure the retail market can deliver the proper consumer protections, innovation, economic benefits, and consumer value, to the citizens of Pennsylvania.”
Darryl Lawrence of the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate emphasized that keeping electricity affordable is essential to consumers’ well‑being. Lawrence recommended adopting fair ratemaking practices, requiring explicit consumer consent before switching customers to variable rates, and implementing strong safeguards to ensure hyperscale data centers do not drive-up costs or disrupt service for existing customers.
“To honor these pledges and policy choices and to protect existing ratepayers from these costs and risks, within Pennsylvania there is existing statutory authority and responsibility placing obligations upon the Commission and the EDCs to act in a manner that respects a cooperative federalism framework and that protects reliable and affordable electricity service for existing ratepayers while also meeting the new extraordinary electricity demand of data centers,” said Lawrence.
Testifiers for the hearing included:
- Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
- Pennsylvania Utility Law Project
- Energy Association of PA
- Office of Consumer Advocate
- Constellation
Senator Nick Miller was elected Policy Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus in December 2024.
Footage of the hearing, as well as the written testimony of the panel, is available at PASenatorMiller.com/Policy. Photographs and downloadable videos are available upon request.
Learn more about the PA Senate Democrats commitment to protecting our commonwealth’s healthcare needs and other legislative priorities at www.pasenate.com.
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Testimony
- Vice-Chair Kim Barrow, Commissioner, Pennsylvania PUC
- Advocate Darryl Lawrence, Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania
- Andrew Tubbs, CEO and President, Energy Association of Pennsylvania (EAP)
- Elizabeth Marx, Esq., Director, PA Utility Law Project
- Alex Charlton, State Chair, Government Relations, Constellation
Additional Information