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RESA Applauds Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for Challenging Utilities on Excessive Rate Increases and Championing Competition in the Pennsylvania Energy Market
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The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) last week issued the following statement addressing a recent letter from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to the state's utilities addressing the cost of capital, utility equity returns, and justification for any sought distribution rate increases (Shapiro's letter was limited to distribution-related matters)
RESA said that pending House Bill 2131, which would ban auto-renewals of retail electric fixed rate contacts for residential and small commercial service, and which would require a utility price comparison on renewal notices, is inconsistent with Shapiro's stated goals of energy affordability. See background on House Bill 2131 here
Statement from RESA:
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RESA Applauds Gov. Josh Shapiro for Challenging Utilities on Excessive Rate Increases and Championing Competition in the Pennsylvania Energy Market
HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 21, 2026) -- The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) strongly supports Gov. Josh Shapiro’s determination to address excessive energy costs for Pennsylvania’s consumers and businesses, and to champion competition in the utility sector. In a letter to utility leaders, Gov. Shapiro addresses how utilities make money and questions the excessive number of rate increase requests.
“Last year alone, 13 Pennsylvania utilities requested $975 million in higher rates after those very same utilities had earned a total of $1.4 billion in profits in 2024,” wrote Shapiro. “I’ve expressed publicly and privately, I believe the 20th-century utility model is broken -- we can no longer simply prioritize corporate profitability to drive infrastructure development.”
Pennsylvania’s energy market is at the center of a national conversation about load growth and who should pay for the infrastructure to support it. Currently, PJM is struggling to meet demand amid rising large loads, including data centers, which directly affect consumers by raising monthly utility costs.
“Utilities are excessively relying on high-cost capital, pursuing aggressive and frequent rate increases, and operating with limited transparency around profits and returns,” said Frank Caliva, RESA’s national spokesperson. “The Governor acknowledged that consumers are exposed to rising costs under default utility service, with little accountability or market discipline.”
The Governor’s letter reinforced what competitive energy suppliers have said for years: rising energy costs are being driven largely by decisions within the traditional monopoly utility model, not by retail competition.
Shapiro wrote to utility leaders, “While there are many factors affecting those increases, several core causes are directly within your control and result from your policy and fiscal decisions, including the excessive rate requests several utilities have sought in recent years.”
Gov. Shapiro also highlighted “Pennsylvania’s long tradition of trusting free markets to deliver fair, transparent pricing. In fact, this year marks the 30th anniversary of Act 138, which introduced competition into our utility sector for the first time. That bipartisan law embodies Pennsylvania’s deep-seated belief that free-market competition -- when properly implemented and overseen -- is the best tool for delivering customers the fair value they deserve.”
RESA agrees that competition is critical to lowering energy prices. “By empowering consumers with more choices, transparent pricing, and access to competitive supply options that can hedge against exactly the kind of volatility and cost increases the Governor is criticizing,” said Caliva. “However, the Governor’s proposed solutions focus solely on reforming the monopoly utility structure rather than expanding or leveraging competitive retail markets.”
This is why RESA opposes House Bill 2131, which, as currently written, will significantly change Pennsylvania’s competitive retail energy market and harm consumers. Rather than lowering costs, this proposed legislation will increase energy prices for consumers over the long term. By limiting how suppliers design and price their products, the bill would reduce competition by forcing customers back to the monopoly utility product, discourage innovation and shrink the range of options available to protect Pennsylvania consumers against rising energy costs. In turn, fewer choices in the market will result in higher prices and significantly reduce customers’ ability to select products that meet their individual needs for their utility bills.
Additionally, House Bill 2131 will increase consumer exposure to price instability in the long term. Competitive suppliers often provide fixed-price or long-term products that shield customers from fluctuations in the wholesale markets. Undermining these offerings would leave more customers reliant on their default electric utility service, and more susceptible to market price swings.
RESA supports true price discipline and believes that consumer protection comes from competition, in which suppliers must earn a customer’s business. RESA urges legislators to consider the unintended consequences of House Bill 2131 carefully and to preserve a market structure that supports innovation, competition, and consumer options. Lastly, RESA supports Gov. Shapiro for challenging the utility’s longstanding relationship with Wall Street to lower the costs for Pennsylvania’s electric and gas consumers.
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May 26, 2026
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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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