Collectively, these utilities serve several thousand electric and natural gas customers in parts of Bradford, Northumberland, Tioga, and Union counties.
The Commission voted 5-0 to suspend and investigate the three proposals, which will now be assigned to the PUC’s Office of Administrative Law Judge for evidentiary hearings and the issuance of recommended decisions.
Because the three utilities are affiliated, they have requested consolidation of the cases and/or joint hearings.
A final PUC decision on the proposed rate increases is due by Jan. 29, 2026.
As part of the investigation, the Commission will also begin scheduling public input hearings to gather testimony from concerned consumers and interested stakeholders.
Dates, times, and locations for those hearings will be detailed in future PUC press releases. Consumers interested in sharing their perspectives are encouraged to follow Commission announcements for upcoming opportunities to participate.
Wellsboro Electric Proposed Rate Changes
Wellsboro Electric proposes an increase in annual revenues of $2.9 million (22%). As proposed, the total monthly bill for a residential customer using 700 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month would increase from $142.75 to $168.97 (18.4%). The company also proposes an increase in the residential customer charge from $12 to $16.50 (37.5%).
Wellsboro Electric serves approximately 6,500 electric customers in the Borough of Wellsboro and in the townships of Charleston, Delmar and Middlebury in Tioga County.
Valley Energy Proposed Rate Changes
Valley Energy proposes an increase in annual revenues of $1.6 million (19%). As proposed, the total monthly bill for a residential customer using 76 Ccf per month would increase from $66.81 to $78.84 (18%). The company also proposes an increase in the residential customer charge from $12.35 to $14.00 (13.4%).
Valley Energy serves more than 7,400 natural gas customers in Bradford County, including in the boroughs of Athens, Monroe, Sayre, South Waverly and Towanda as well as the townships of Asylum, Athens, Monroe, North Towanda, Towanda, Ulster and Wysox.
Citizens’ Electric Proposed Rate Changes
Citizens’ Electric proposes an increase in annual revenues of $1.79 million (11%). As proposed, the total monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,250 kWh per month would increase from $163.89 to $181.51 (11%). The company also proposes an increase in the residential customer charge from $13.10 to $16.50 (26%).
Citizens’ Electric serves nearly 7,200 electric customers in the Borough of Lewisburg and surrounding communities in Union and Northumberland counties.
Click Here for more information about the PUC ratemaking process.
Click Here for the PUC announcement.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 17 to 23 -- Failure To Comply With Shale Well Plugging Order; 28 Months Without 3 Conventional Well Cleanups; 206 Abandoned Conventional Wells; Road Dumping Continues [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Agrees There Is ‘Acute’ Danger In CNX Misusing A Deposition In An Appeal Before The Board To ‘Punish’ An Environmental Advocate For Her Advocacy Against CNX [PaEN]
-- Late Night Dumping II: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumping Continues On Roads, This Time With Bigger Trucks; New Research On Harmful Wastewater Impacts [PaEN]
-- PA American Water Begins Construction Of Pipeline To Provide Replacement Water For Dimock Township Residents Who Had Wells Contaminated By Shale Gas Drilling 20 Years Ago In Susquehanna County [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 24 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 95 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 24 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Evangelical Environmental Network: US House-Passed Budget Bill Raises Costs, Increases Health Risks; Eliminates PA’s MERP Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding [PaEN]
-- Energy Future PA Co-Chairs: Federal Budget Proposal That Eliminates Clean Energy Tax Credits Puts Billions In Private Investment, Thousands Of Jobs At Risk In PA [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Inquirer Guest Essay: 9 In 10 Pennsylvanians Support Stronger Health Protection From Oil & Gas Fracking - By Joanne Kilgour, Ohio River Valley Institute, and Alison Steele, Environmental Health Project [PDF of Article]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Industry Needs More And Better Regulation - By Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) Majority Chair House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee
-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Must Energize Efforts To Regulate Its Oil And Gas Industry - By By Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) Majority Chair House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee
-- Kleinman Center For Energy Policy Blog: Fact-Free US Energy Policy Portends Long-Term Damage To The US - By John Quigley
-- WITF The Spark: Legal Battle Over Carbon Pollution Cap Could Shape Pennsylvania’s Energy Future
-- The Citizens Voice Letter: Plan To Extract Lithium From OIl & Gas Wastewater Without A Full Accounting Of Its Hazards Is Not A Solution - By Tonyehn Verkitus, Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA [PDF of Article]
-- The Conversation Guest Essay: Why Your Electricity Bill Is So High And What Pennsylvania Is Doing About It - By Hannah Wiseman and Seth Blumsack From Penn State University [Data Center Demand, Rising Fuel Costs]
-- Utility Dive Guest Essay: Is Your Electric Bill Too High? Thank LNG Gas Exports - By Lt.. General Russel L. Honore (Retired) [Stop Selling LNG To Our Competitors]
-- PA Capital-Star: Lawmakers Hear Testimony On Meeting PA Power Demand: ‘Huge Amount Of Growth’
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: With Soaring Summer Temps Ahead, A.I. Data Centers Could Strain Electricity Supplies In The Delaware Valley
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: TECfusions Unveils Plans For Massive Data Center, A.I. Campus, Up To 3 Gigawatt Natural Gas Power Plants At Former Alcoa Site In Westmoreland County [PDF of Article]
-- The Center Square: Electric Transmission Upgrades At Crucial Turning Point
-- LancasterOnline: How PPL, Met-Ed Customers May Be Able To Duck June 1 Electricity Price Hikes
-- Observer-Reporter: Southwest PA Schools Among Those To Receive Funding To Install Solar Panels
-- The Citizens Voice: Hanover Area School District Gets $400,000 Grant For Solar Energy Facility
-- Tribune-Democrat: Cambria County Commissioners Take Steps Toward Solar Energy Project At Prison
-- Post-Gazette Editorial: The Future Is Nuclear, The US, Pittsburgh Must Be Ready
-- WESA: PA Lawmakers Question Pittsburgh-Area Utilities On April 20 Storm Response, Power Outages
-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Guest Essay: New England Needs PA’s Natural Gas - Dems Won’t Let Them Have It - By Jessica Towhey, Communications Strategist
-- Bloomberg: New York’s Natural Gas Pipeline For Offshore Wind Farm Bargain Will Move The Fight To Massachusetts
-- Utility Dive: ICF Consulting Sees 25% Electricity Load Growth By 2030 Driving Up To 40% Increase In Residential Electricity Rates
-- Utility Dive: US House Republican Budget ‘Worse Than Feared’ For Clean Energy - Analysts
-- Bloomberg: New Fortress LNG Exporter Disqualified From Puerto Rico Auction; Company Value Has Fallen 80% This Year [Company Pursuing LNG Projects In PA]
-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-Colorado, FracTracker: Oil & Gas Fracking Chemicals Still Secret In Colorado, Little Compliance With 2022 Law Designed To Prevent Toxic Exposures
-- The Guardian: Colorado Oil & Gas Drilling Companies Not Complying With Fracking Chemicals Disclosure Law, Ban On Use Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’
-- US DOE Releases Response To Comments On 2024 LNG Gas Export Study Saying No Discernible Impact On Climate Emissions, Minimizing Impacts On Prices [DOE Said The Opposite In December ]
-- The Hill: US DOE Now Says LNG Gas Export Environmental Impacts ‘Outside’ Its Authority
-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Fall Into Negative Territory In Texas Due To Pipeline Maintenance
[Posted: May 22, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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