Distribution
How Your Rates Work
Your electric service has two components: supply and delivery. You are charged separately for your electricity supply and for the delivery of your electricity.
Electricity Supply
Supply refers to the generation of electricity. Coal, natural gas and oil are the principal fossil fuels used to generate electricity.
With the advent of electricity deregulation, customers can choose to buy electricity from competing suppliers. Or, if they do not choose an alternative supplier, their utility buys power for them and passes along the cost. This is called Standard Offer Service.
Electricity Delivery
The other part of getting electricity to you is delivery. On your customer bill this is called distribution. Distribution rates cover the costs of maintaining, expanding and improving our electric system – the power poles, lines, meters, linesmen and customer service representatives who serve you.
In August 2007, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a 3.3 percent increase in Pepco’s electric distribution rates. This is the first delivery rate increase in nearly a decade.
The new rates were applied to bills beginning August 16, 2007, but reflected energy used on and after June 16, 2007. Under the new rates, the total average monthly bill for a typical Maryland residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity increased 0.9 percent, or $1.27.
The rate increase covers reliability improvements and supports investment in new technology to keep pace with growth and increasing customer demand for power.
