What changed on your bill
PPL's Price to Compare — the default supply rate most PPL customers pay — is up roughly 66% since 2020. On top of that, a $275 million PPL distribution rate increase took effect July 1, 2026. Duquesne Light has separately put a number on the region-wide impact, citing an estimated $2.18 billion increase in electric bills across Pennsylvania tied to the current wave of capacity and infrastructure costs.
The real driver: PJM's capacity auction
Pennsylvania sits inside PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator covering 13 states and D.C. PJM's capacity auction — essentially a market where power plants get paid to guarantee they'll be available years in advance — cleared at $270.35 per megawatt-day in the prior cycle, up from just $29.50 the cycle before. That roughly nine-fold jump feeds directly into utility rates across the region, and it's a major reason Pennsylvania utilities have posted rate increases near 20% year-over-year in some service territories.
Rising data-center demand is one of the biggest factors pushing PJM auction prices higher — see the full national picture in our data centers and electricity costs breakdown →.
Where Pennsylvania's plug-in solar bill stands
Pennsylvania has a plug-in solar bill, HB 1971, that would permit residential plug-in solar systems up to 1,200W without utility approval, fees, or interconnection requirements. As of late August 2026, it remains in the House Energy Committee with no floor vote scheduled. Until it passes, a grid-tied plug-in system isn't a clean legal option in the state — but that's worth tracking, since several neighboring states (New Jersey, New York) have already passed similar bills this year.
Bottom line
Pennsylvania's rate increases trace back to a regional capacity market that's pricing in surging data-center demand, not a one-time local decision. That means the pressure isn't going away soon — worth watching both your utility's next rate filing and HB 1971's progress.
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