The state Public Utility Commission meets in Harrisburg today, and the agenda shows two items with direct connections to Indiana County.
One of those items is a rate increase request by Penelec, the electric utility which serves a large portion of Indiana County. Penelec filed the request last April and the PUC has held several hearings on the matter. The increase would amount to seventeen percent, and add about $24 a month to the typical residential customer’s electric bill. Penelec last requested a rate increase in 2014 and those rates took effect in 2015. This would be the company’s second rate increase in the last 32 years.
Also on the PUC agenda today is a petition by PennDOT to transfer jurisdiction in a property acquisition case to Indiana County Court. PennDOT has determined that Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railway is entitled to $500 in compensation for a property appropriation, and the court will be asked to take up the matter.
