ACT 129 should help when the caps come off

Legislation has been enacted in Harrisburg to help Pennsylvania's electric consumers ease the financial effects of rate deregulation.

The office of Gov. Ed Rendell estimates that the bill's provisions will help residential, commercial and industrial users save about $500 million over five years. Current predictions call for an estimated 35-percent rate increase in electric generation prices when the remaining rate caps finally end throughout the state.

Mike Smith, spokesperson for Gov. Rendell, calls the legislation monumental and the result of a true bipartisan effort. He also warns that there will be no quick fix to the anticipated rate increases.

"Pennsylvania has been experiencing a 1.5-percent per year rise in annual electric use, and this new program will make use of many relatively small technologies to conserve electricity," says Smith. "This is one way to make the price increases from the end of rate caps more manageable, while also lowering greenhouse emissions."