Pennsylvania Bill Explanation of Terms

How Bills are Determined

Electricity is measured and priced in kilowatt-hours (kWh). You are billed according to the number of kilowatt-hours you use as measured by your electric meter.

When you pay for a kWh of electricity, you are buying 1,000 watts of electricity used continuously for one hour. As an example, one kWh is the amount of electricity a 100-watt light bulb will use in ten hours.

Bill Due Dates

Your electric bill is due on or before the due date. To avoid late payment charges, pay your bill on or before the due date shown on your bill.

Late Payment

Unfortunately, at times customers might be late in paying their electric bills. When this happens, we urge our customers to contact us to avoid a disconnection of electric service. We consider disconnecting electric service for nonpayment a last resort and would rather work out payment arrangements.

If you need to speak to a Cutomer Service Representative regarding a late payment, please contact us.

Why Bills are Estimated

Our meter readers have assigned routes and schedules. At times, severe weather conditions or other unforeseen problems might keep them from reading all the meters on their routes. When this happens, we estimate your electricity usage during that billing period based on your previous electric bills. Any difference between your estimated usage and actual usage is automatically adjusted the next time your meter is read.

Your bill may be estimated if a dog on or near your property was blocking the meter reader's path to your electric meter. To help ensure their safety, meter readers will not attempt to read an electric meter if there is a dog in the vicinity of the meter. We ask your cooperation in keeping your dog leashed or confined to prevent our employees from being exposed to unnecessary risk.

You can avoid estimated bills by submitting your meter reading online. Or, if you would rather submit a meter reading card by mail, contact us to request the appropriate form.

Bill Terms

  • Customer Charge. Monthly charge that offsets costs for billing, meter reading, equipment, and service line maintenance.
  • Customer Distribution Charge. Fixed charge for meter reading, billing, service line maintenance and equipment.
  • Default Service Support Charge. Charge to recover new and deferred costs associated with serving customers in a competitive market.
  • Distribution Charge. Charges for Universal Service Program costs and for the use of local wires, transformers, substations and other equipment used to deliver electricity to consumers from high-voltage transmission lines.
  • Energy Efficiency Charge. Charge to fund the utility’s programs designed to reduce customers’ annual electric use and peak demand for electricity mandated by Act 129 of 2008.
  • Estimated Reading. On the months we do not read a meter, we calculate the bill based on past electrical usage.
    Generation Charge - Charge for the production of electricity.
  • Hourly Pricing Service Charge. Charges to provide energy, capacity, compliance with Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, transmission and ancillary services for Industrial customers receiving Default Service.
  • KWH (Kilowatt Hour). A unit of measure for electricity usage equal to 1,000 watts used for one hour.
  • KWH Distribution Charge. Variable charge for the cost of using local wires, transformers, substations and other equipment needed to deliver electricity to a premise.
  • Late Payment Charge. A charge added to the bill on balances owed after the Due Date.
  • Non-Utility Generation Charge. Charges to cover an electric utility’s costs associated with contracts with non-utility-owned generation.
  • Price to Compare (PTC). Price per kilowatt hour to be used when comparing to the price of a generation supplier.
  • Price to Compare Default Service. Charges for costs to provide energy, capacity, compliance with Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, transmission and ancillary services for customers receiving Default Service.
  • Prorated Bill. If this is on the bill, the current billing period is less than 26 days or more than 35 days or a rate change occurred during the current billing period.
  • Service Charge. Charge for opening an account.
  • Smart Meter Charge. Charge for assessing and deploying state-mandated smart meter technology.
  • Solar Requirements Charge. Charge to acquire Solar Photovoltaic Alternative Energy Credits to comply with the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
  • State Taxes. The bill includes state taxes including the Gross Receipts Tax.  If the State Sales Tax is applicable, it will display as a line item on the bill.
  • State Tax Surcharge. An adjustment to the state taxes recovered through Met Ed’s basic charges.
  • Transmission Charge. Charge for the movement of high-voltage electricity from a generation facility to our distribution lines.