SHOCK: Pennsylvania Residential Shopping Declines on Statewide Basis! Three Utilities Now Seeing Residential Shopping Decline

In a new low for the challenged Pennsylvania retail electric market, the number of residential customers on competitive electric supply across the state declined for the first time since weekly stats began being published two years ago, and three electric distribution utilities are now seeing the number of residential accounts on competitive supply decline.

Specifically, from about May 2 to May 8 (reporting date varies slightly by utilities), Pennsylvania saw the aggregate number of residential electric customers on competitive supply decrease by 228. This compares to the week-ago growth of 2,100 accounts.

Additionally, from about May 2 to May 8, PECO, PPL, and Duquesne Light each saw a decline in the number of residential customers on competitive supply.

The experience at PECO is notable, as while PECO had seen some marginal declines in residential shopping late last year, it had not been one of the utilities to see falling residential shopping in the recent rut that the Pennsylvania market has been experiencing since February of this year.

Now, however, PECO makes the fourth Pennsylvania EDC to see a weekly decline in residential shopping during at least one week in 2013, joining PPL, Duquesne Light, and West Penn Power.

That's over half of the seven major utilities in Pennsylvania which have seen residential shopping reverse.

And as Matters notes in a related story today, things are probably going to get worse before they get better.

Specifically, the weekly net growth (loss) in residential shoppers at each utility from about May 2 to about May 8 (reporting date varies slightly by utility) was as follows:

Duquesne Light         (125)
Met-Ed                  585
PECO                   (279)
Penelec                 176
Penn Power               54
PPL                    (837)
West Penn Power         198

Link to PUC's 5/8/13 Weekly Migration Report

Matters has also developed a comparison of the migration levels from the 5/1/13 Report to the 5/8/13 Report.

Link to Matters' Comparison of Weekly Migration