PA Attorney General Announces Investigation into Electric Generation Price Hikes
February 27, 2014
PA Attorney General Kane on Wednesday announced an investigation into abnormal and extreme increases in electricity rates on recent utility bills. Presumably, the reference is to variable rate increases that some electric generation suppliers have notified their customers would be charged due to increases in wholesale electric prices caused by the “Polar Vortex.”
The release indicated that the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection is working collaboratively with the Office of Consumer Advocate to learn whether consumers have been improperly overcharged for their electricity.
The Attorney General indicated that the investigation will include a determination of whether the price hikes constituted “price gouging,” which the press release described as “increasing prices above any increased costs” during a state of emergency, which was declared by Governor Corbett on Feb. 5, 2014.
The Price Gouging Act ((Act of Oct. 31, 2006, P.L. 1210, No. 133) prohibits “unconscionably excessive pricing” which is characterized as a price hike of 20% or more compared to the price charged prior to the state of emergency. However, the Act “does not apply if the increase in price is substantially attributable to additional costs that arose within the chain of distribution… .”
The Attorney General also called on consumers to file complaints with the Bureau of Consumer Protection along with documents such as contracts and marketing materials.
This Eckert Seamans Energy and Utilities Blog is intended to keep readers current on matters affecting businesses and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions about the content of this post, please contact Dan Clearfield at (717) 237-7173; dclearfield@eckertseamans.com