Electric utility company PECO offering financial aid of $500 to assist customers in clearing outstanding energy bills
PECO Launches New Customer Assistance Fund to Help Struggling Households
In an effort to provide relief to struggling households, PECO, the utility company serving the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey region, has announced the launch of a new customer assistance fund. This fund, backed by a $10 million one-time donation from Exelon, PECO's parent company, will offer one-time, $500 grants to qualifying residential customers.
The fund will operate by providing a one-time $500 grant in the form of a credit on electricity and natural gas bills. To qualify, households must have overdue PECO bills and meet income requirements, specifically having a household income between 151% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. For example, a family of four earning between $48,547 and $96,450 annually would be eligible. Customers must be residential and in arrears on their accounts, but they cannot have a past-due balance of more than $2,000, unless the grant would bring it down below $2,000.
The program will run from August 4 through December 31, 2025, or until the fund is exhausted. Receiving the grant provides a credit toward outstanding bills but may not fully prevent shutoff or guarantee reconnection if other amounts remain unpaid.
This new customer relief fund serves as an additional option alongside existing assistance programs such as LIHEAP, PECO’s Customer Assistance Program (CAP), and others. It is geared toward limited- and middle-income customers who don't qualify for traditional aid but still face energy cost challenges.
PECO emphasizes that energy supply costs are beyond their control, but the company is committed to helping customers manage rising bills amid limited supply and growing demand. The company has already seen an increase in PECO electric bills, with a 10% rise at the beginning of this year, resulting in an additional $13 for the typical residential customer. An additional increase of 1.5% to 5% is expected to kick in next June, and the higher capacity costs will drive PECO customer bills up 10% over two years, starting in June 2025.
Applicants for the new program will need to provide proof of income and will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. The application for the new PECO customer assistance program will be available online starting August 4. The grants will show up as credits on customers' accounts.
It's worth noting that Black and Hispanic households in Philadelphia spend a bigger portion of their income on energy bills compared to households overall. A quarter of low-income households in Philadelphia spend at least 16% of their income on energy bills.
PECO is hoping that this new customer assistance fund will provide some much-needed relief to struggling households in the region. The fund will be administered by the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
This new customer assistance fund, administered by the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, will offer a one-time $500 grant to eligible residential customers struggling with their PECO bills. This grant, a part of PECO's efforts to help customers manage rising bills, is intended for households with annual incomes between $48,547 and $96,450, as they may not qualify for traditional aid but still face energy cost challenges in personal-finance.
