PPL Electric for Cannabis Facilities: GS-1 Through LP-5, Demand Charges, and EGS Supply

Service area and grid operator

PPL Electric Utilities is the second-largest Pennsylvania electric distribution company and serves 29 counties of central and eastern Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Scranton, and Wilkes-Barre [pa-papowerswitch]. The territory is entirely in PJM [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Several grower/processor facilities among the 25 permits capped under Act 16 sit in Lancaster, Lebanon, and the Lehigh Valley within PPL territory [pa-papowerswitch].

Central Pennsylvania's climate runs heating-heavy: 5,701 statewide heating degree days against 706 cooling degree days [noaa-cag-pennsylvania]. A grower/processor here spends much of the year managing envelope heat loss, then faces a concentrated summer dehumidification season that often sets both billing demand and PLC tags [noaa-cag-pennsylvania].

Rate schedules and class placement

PPL's retail tariff uses these principal commercial schedules [pa-papowerswitch]:

Schedule	Description	Demand charge?	Typical cannabis account
GS-1	Small general service	No [pa-papowerswitch]	Dispensary, small office
GS-3	General service with demand, secondary or primary voltage	Per-kW on measured demand [pa-papowerswitch]	Grower/processor, larger retail
LP-4	Large power, primary voltage	Per-kW [pa-papowerswitch]	Large grower/processor on primary
LP-5	Large power, transmission voltage	Per-kW [pa-papowerswitch]	Uncommon in cannabis

Confirm the current per-kW figures on PPL's tariff before quoting a facility [pa-papowerswitch]. The structure is stable even when dollar rates change on filing: GS-1 bills energy only, GS-3 and LP schedules add a monthly demand line keyed to measured peak kW.

A grower/processor with 350 kW of lighting and 150 kW of summer HVAC peaks at 500 kW on one meter and sits on GS-3 or approaches LP-4 depending on voltage and contract demand. A dispensary in downtown Lancaster using 8,000 kWh a month with peak demand under the GS-1 threshold stays on energy-only billing [pa-papowerswitch].

Demand charge structure

GS-3 carries a per-kW distribution charge on measured demand [pa-papowerswitch]. Unlike PECO's billing-demand floor for contract demand above 500 kW, PPL's GS-3 line follows measured peak unless a ratchet applies on the current tariff sheet [pa-papowerswitch]. Pull interval data and identify the half-hour that set each month's peak before blaming the lighting schedule alone.

For an assumed 480 kW measured demand, multiply by the tariff per-kW rate to estimate the monthly demand line. Add customer charges, metering, and energy delivery per kWh. That total is the delivery bill no EGS can reduce. The demand charges page and interval data page cover management tactics.

Default supply and Price to Compare

Default service for small C and I is a fixed Price to Compare reset semiannually [pa-papowerswitch]. The PTC is generation plus transmission for each class, published for benchmarking on PAPowerSwitch [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Dispensaries on GS-1 compare EGS offers directly against that semiannual figure.

Large C and I default service is hourly priced off PJM [pa-papowerswitch] [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Grower/processors on GS-3 or LP schedules that stay on default ride hourly wholesale volatility through every batch cycle and every summer dehumidification peak. Fixed EGS contracts are the standard fix, with attention to whether PJM capacity is bundled or passed through on the PLC tag [pa-puc-retail-markets].

Act 129 requires default service to be a prudent mix of spot, short-term, and long-term supply [pa-puc-electricity], which governs how PPL constructs the semiannual PTC even when large accounts never see a fixed number [pa-puc-electricity].

Metering and PLC tags

PPL sets peak load contribution and network service peak load tags that drive capacity pass-through for EGS customers [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Tags follow summer coincident peak behavior on the meter. A grow that lowers its July peak through dehumidification sequencing or lighting stagger reduces next year's capacity line on both default and EGS bills [pa-puc-retail-markets].

Request twelve months of interval data before signing an EGS contract on a GS-3 or LP account. Suppliers price blind without it, and blind pricing includes margin for uncertainty you pay for.

Efficiency programs

PPL Electric's Act 129 business program offers performance-based rebates for lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, VFDs, controls, CHP, and agricultural equipment, plus direct-discount offers for small businesses [ppl-biz-savings]. Phase IV ran June 2021 through May 2026; Phase V began June 1, 2026 [ppl-biz-savings]. Confirm the Phase V measure list before ordering fixtures, because Phase IV did not name a DLC horticultural lighting measure and Phase V schedules were not fully verified for that item at the time this page was written [ppl-biz-savings].

Custom incentives for dehumidification and chiller upgrades often pay better than prescriptive lighting rebates in PPL territory given the humid summer latent load [noaa-cag-pennsylvania].

How an EGS contract works with PPL billing

A PUC-licensed EGS replaces PPL's default generation and transmission charges [pa-puc-retail-markets]. PPL continues to deliver power and bill regulated delivery lines [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Consolidated billing keeps one familiar bill format; dual billing splits delivery and supply [pa-papowerswitch].

The EGS submits enrollment, and the switch takes effect at the next meter read [pa-papowerswitch]. Calendar contract end dates against semiannual PTC resets so you re-bid before lapse to hourly default on the grow meter [pa-puc-retail-markets]. The Pennsylvania switching guide covers enrollment step by step. The PPL grower/processor case study walks through a central Pennsylvania example, and the Pennsylvania rate page compares PPL classes alongside PECO and Duquesne.

Comparing PPL to PECO on the same portfolio

Operators sometimes hold a grower/processor on PPL in Lancaster County and dispensaries on PECO in Montgomery County. Both territories use PJM capacity tags [pa-puc-retail-markets], but PPL GS-3 bills measured demand while PECO GS applies a billing-demand floor once contract demand exceeds 500 kW [pa-papowerswitch] [peco-rates-tariffs]. Default supply resets differ too: PPL small C and I PTC resets semiannually [pa-papowerswitch], while PECO Generation Supply Adjustment resets June 1 and December 1 [peco-rates-tariffs]. One EGS can serve both meters, but the quote should treat each delivery class separately rather than averaging the two bills.

GS-1 to GS-3 migration in central PA

PPL Rate GS-1 serves small general service without demand charges; GS-3 bills per-kW distribution on measured demand [pa-papowerswitch]. Harrisburg and Scranton corridor grows crossing the GS-3 threshold need interval metering and an EGS contract because large C and I default is hourly priced [pa-papowerswitch]. Confirm Phase V measure lists on PPL's business program before ordering horticultural fixtures [ppl-biz-savings].

Quarterly bill review cadence

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [pa-papowerswitch]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [ppl-biz-savings]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-pennsylvania]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [pa-puc-electricity]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [pa-papowerswitch].

Documentation for audits and lenders

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [pa-papowerswitch]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [ppl-biz-savings]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-pennsylvania]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [pa-puc-electricity]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [pa-papowerswitch].

Board reporting on utility COGS

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [pa-papowerswitch]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [ppl-biz-savings]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-pennsylvania]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [pa-puc-electricity]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [pa-papowerswitch].

Tariff verification before budgeting

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [pa-papowerswitch]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [pa-puc-retail-markets]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [ppl-biz-savings]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-pennsylvania]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [pa-puc-electricity]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [pa-papowerswitch].

LP-4 primary for large central PA grows

PPL LP-4 and LP-5 serve large power at primary and transmission voltage [pa-papowerswitch]. Grower/processors above GS-3 thresholds should evaluate primary service during initial design [pa-papowerswitch].