PPL's Unit Rhode Island Energy Cuts Summer Power Supply Rates by 16%

PPL Corp. PPL announced that its unit, Rhode Island Energy, has received approval from the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission to lower the summer electricity supply prices. The lower rates come after a difficult winter for many residents, when unusually cold temperatures pushed energy usage and household bills higher across the state.

Under the new pricing structure, the company’s Last Resort Service (“LRS”) electricity rate will decline nearly 16%. The supply price will drop from 14.77 cents per kilowatt-hour during the winter to 11.09 cents for the summer period. These revised rates will remain in effect from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2026, reflecting typical seasonal adjustments in energy markets.

With the updated rates and other adjustments taking effect, a typical residential customer consuming around 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month is expected to see their monthly bill reduction of $7. The reduction follows one of Rhode Island’s harshest winters in decades, highlighted by the Historic Blizzard of 2026, which led to increased heating demand and higher electricity consumption for many households.

This reduction in utility bills will undoubtedly bring relief to Rhode Island Energy’s customers after they have to pay a higher bill during the winter months. LRS prices are updated twice each year and are largely influenced by broader market conditions that are beyond the company’s control.

Electricity Rates Are Expected to Increase in the United States

Per a release from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), electricity rates are expected to increase nearly 3.5% in 2026 from 2025 levels. So, the rate decline for PPL’s Rhode Island Energy customers is a welcome break when compared with rate hike expectations across the nation. Regulated utilities recover the costs of investments made to upgrade and strengthen infrastructure for reliable customer service through approved rate increases.

Major utilities like Duke Energy Corporation DUK and Xcel Energy XEL have proposed rate hikes to their respective commissions.

Duke Energy explained that the rate hikes are essential for modernizing the grid, recovering from storms and ensuring infrastructure reliability, whereas Xcel Energy needs the funds to strengthen its distribution system, including poles, wires and pipelines.

Apart from strengthening their respective infrastructure, these companies are planning to bring online clean energy generation facilities to meet rising demand in their service regions.

Price Performance

PPL’s shares have gained 9.5% in the past three months, compared with the Zacks Utility- Electric Power rally of 9.7%.

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Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

PPL currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock from the same industry to consider in DTE Energy DTE has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DTE’s earnings per share for 2026 and 2027 indicates year-over-year growth of 4.89% and 7.26%, respectively. The current dividend yield of the company is 3.17%, which is better than its industry yield of 2.7%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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