Reading is in Met-Ed territory (a FirstEnergy company); Lancaster is in PPL territory. Both serve small businesses on the GS-1 rate class around 11.5 cents per kWh. GS-1 commercial customers in central PA typically lock supplier rates at 9.2 to 10.4 cents per kWh for 24 months. Estimated annual savings: $2,400 to $4,800 for typical accounts. The 6-month lock window most operators miss is the August through October forward window.
Territory split: Met-Ed vs PPL
Reading (Berks County) is in Met-Ed territory. Met-Ed is a FirstEnergy operating company. Lancaster (Lancaster County) is in PPL Electric Utilities territory. Both utilities apply the GS-1 rate class to small commercial customers under 25 kW demand.
The 2026 GS-1 default rates: Met-Ed 11.5 cents per kWh, PPL 11.5 cents per kWh. The rates are essentially tied. The supplier marketplace is shared because PUC-certified suppliers can sell across both utilities.
The 6-month lock window most operators miss
Most small-business operators do not actively shop their supplier contract. They sign when their utility connection starts and stay on whatever rate they got. The PUCO PTC drifts up quarterly and the operator does not notice.
The lock window that catches most savings: August through October, with a 24-month forward contract. Suppliers price most aggressively in this window because PJM capacity auction has cleared and winter spike risk has not yet priced into forward curves.
Typical Reading and Lancaster small-business savings
A typical Reading or Lancaster small business uses roughly 25,000 kWh a month. On default GS-1 at 11.5 cents per kWh, the supply portion is $2,875 a month or $34,500 a year.
On a locked rate at 9.8 cents per kWh, the supply portion drops to $2,450 a month or $29,400 a year. Annual savings: $5,100. Smaller accounts scale linearly.
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