Pennsylvania has no single utility office. Electricity, natural gas, water, sewer and propane come from a mix of investor-owned companies, municipal authorities, member-owned cooperatives and private fuel dealers. This page covers 376 of them, from West Penn Power in Greensburg to small water authorities in towns like Blairsville and Bedford. Knowing which type of provider serves your address tells you who to call, who sets the rates, and where to complain when something goes wrong.

How Utilities in Pennsylvania Are Regulated

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), based in Harrisburg, regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, water and wastewater companies. It approves their rates, sets service standards and takes consumer complaints. Residential billing rules sit in Chapter 56 of Title 52 of the Pennsylvania Code. Chapter 14 of the Public Utility Code (Title 66) covers payment agreements, deposits and the conditions for terminating service.

Not every provider answers to the PUC on rates. Municipal water and sewer authorities are created by local governments under state law and run by appointed boards, and they set rates at public meetings. Rural electric cooperatives are owned by their members and governed by elected boards. Adams Electric Cooperative in Gettysburg, Bedford Rural Electric Co-Op and Somerset Rural Electric Cooperative are all examples. If you have a dispute with a cooperative or an authority, start with its board rather than the state commission.

There are exceptions. Philadelphia Gas Works is city-owned but regulated by the PUC, and the legislature placed Pittsburgh's water and sewer authority under PUC oversight in 2017. Philadelphia's water rates are set through a city process rather than by the PUC.

Water safety is a separate track. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection enforces drinking water standards for public water systems under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, whoever owns the system. Interstate pipelines, such as the Columbia Gas Transmission site listed in Ellwood City, answer to federal regulators. Propane and heating oil are sold at market prices, so a dealer like Lehigh Valley Propane in Allentown sets its own.

To find your own provider, look at the top of a recent bill. Electric bills often show two names: the local utility that delivers power and, if you have switched, the supplier that sells it.

City Grids and Country Roads: How Service Differs Across Pennsylvania

In dense metro areas, your address usually decides your provider. Philadelphia, with 14 listings, is served by PECO for electricity, Philadelphia Gas Works for gas and the Philadelphia Water Department for water and sewer. The Philadelphia County page collects the offices in the city. In the Lehigh Valley, Allentown is home to PPL Electric Utilities, whose territory covers a large part of eastern and central Pennsylvania. The Lehigh County page lists local providers such as Lehigh Valley Propane.

Western Pennsylvania has a different mix. Allegheny County has more listings than any other county. Duquesne Light delivers electricity around Pittsburgh, and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania lists an office on Neville Road. Further east, West Penn Power lists an office at 800 Cabin Hill Drive in Greensburg.

Harrisburg, the state capital, has five listings, including Mark West Energy Inc. on North 2nd Street. Gettysburg has four, led by Adams Electric Cooperative on Biglerville Road.

Rural Pennsylvania leans on cooperatives and small authorities. Bedford and Somerset counties are served by their own rural electric cooperatives. In the northwest, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation has an office in Bradford, McKean County. Waynesburg, in Greene County, has five listings, including Atlas Energy Co, in the Marcellus Shale gas region. Cambria County has 17 listings, among them Greater Johnstown Water Authority and the Nanty-Glo Treatment Plant.

In a small town you may deal with one authority for water, another for sewer, a utility for electricity and a private dealer for heat. Keep each account number handy, because each office handles only its own service.

Sample Providers From the Pennsylvania Listings

These entries show how varied the listings are. Call before you visit to confirm services and hours.

Pennsylvania Rules on Bills, Shutoffs and Assistance

State law gives customers of PUC-regulated utilities specific protections. A utility must give written notice before shutting off service for nonpayment, and you can ask for a payment agreement before that point. If you dispute a bill, you can file a complaint with the PUC's Bureau of Consumer Services. Keep paying the undisputed part while the dispute is reviewed.

Winter adds protection. From December 1 through March 31, utilities generally cannot shut off heat-related service for households with income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. You still owe the bill, and you may be asked to arrange payment.

Help comes from two main places. Large regulated utilities run Customer Assistance Programs that tie bills to household income. PECO, Philadelphia Gas Works and the Philadelphia Water Department's Tiered Assistance Program are examples. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, offers heating grants and crisis help. You can apply through the state's COMPASS site or your county assistance office.

Electric and gas customers can also shop for a supplier through the PUC's PAPowerSwitch and PAGasSwitch sites. Switching changes only who supplies the energy. Your local utility still delivers it and handles outages. Water and sewer service offers no such choice.

Municipal utility departments throughout Pennsylvania provide electricity, water, sewer, and related services to millions of residents and businesses. Utility governance in Pennsylvania is shaped by the state's public utility commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities, while municipally owned systems operate under local authority.

Utilities locations are available in 255 cities across Pennsylvania. They are spread across 62 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration of utility offices include Philadelphia, Allentown, Johnstown, reflecting their larger populations and service area demands.

Pennsylvania residents should contact their local utility provider directly for account setup, billing questions, and outage reporting. State-level utility assistance programs may also be available through the state's health and human services agency.

Utilities by Counties

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
L
M
N
P
S
T
V
W
Y

Pennsylvania residents who need help paying utility bills may qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), administered through the state's community services offices. Contact your local utility provider to inquire about budget billing, shut-off protection, and additional assistance programs available in your area.

Browse Utilities by county across Pennsylvania to find your local utility department's contact information and service office locations.

Using the Pennsylvania Utility Listings Before You Call or Visit

Not every address in the listings is a customer counter. Greater Johnstown Water Authority on Franklin Street and Doylestown Water Department on West Court Street are local water offices tied to a community system. The Nanty-Glo Treatment Plant on Benjamin Franklin Highway in Ebensburg and the Columbia Gas Transmission site on Shadyrest Road in Ellwood City are operating facilities. Call the number first and ask whether the site serves the public. A plant's mailing town can also differ from the community its name suggests.

For billing questions, you rarely need to travel. Most providers handle start-up, stop-service requests, payment arrangements and outage reports by phone. Have a photo ID, your account number and your latest bill ready. If you hold a shutoff notice, keep it in hand and note the date printed on it. Small local offices in towns like Blairsville or Bedford may keep shorter hours than large companies, so confirm before you drive.

Pennsylvania has 67 counties, and each county page on this site narrows the list. Westmoreland County includes the West Penn Power listing in Greensburg. Chester County, with 15 listings, shows how communities west of Philadelphia are served. Listings come from public records and can go out of date, so confirm a number and service before relying on it.

A quick way to sort out a problem: if the company is investor-owned, the PUC is your escalation point. If it is an authority or cooperative, go to its board. For drinking water safety, contact the Department of Environmental Protection. If you smell gas, leave the building and call 911 first.

Pennsylvania Utility Questions Answered

Start with the company's customer service line and ask that the dispute be recorded. If the company is regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, such as PECO, Aqua Pennsylvania or York Water Company, you can then file an informal complaint with the PUC's Bureau of Consumer Services. Keep copies of bills, notices and the dates of your calls. Municipal authorities and electric cooperatives work differently. For those, raise the issue with the board at a public meeting, and ask whether the authority has a written appeal process.

Yes. Pennsylvania opened electricity generation to competition under a 1996 law, and natural gas supply choice followed. You can pick a competitive supplier or stay on your utility's default service rate, known as the price to compare. The PUC runs the PAPowerSwitch and PAGasSwitch websites to help you compare offers. Read the contract for the rate type, term and any cancellation fee before you sign. Whichever you choose, your local utility still owns the wires or pipes, sends crews during outages and handles emergencies. Water and sewer customers cannot shop for a provider.

Rules are stricter between December 1 and March 31. Under Chapter 14 of the Public Utility Code, regulated utilities generally may not terminate heat-related service for households at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level during that period, though the bill still comes due. If you are behind, call right away and ask about a payment agreement and the company's Customer Assistance Program. You can also apply for LIHEAP heating or crisis help through the Department of Human Services. Propane and heating oil dealers are not covered by these PUC rules, and cooperatives or authorities may follow different procedures, so ask them directly.

Community water systems must give customers an annual Consumer Confidence Report, usually delivered or posted by July 1. It lists the source of your water, detected contaminants and any violations. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection oversees public water systems and takes complaints about them. If your water comes from a provider like Greater Johnstown Water Authority or Meadville Area Water Authority, call the number in our listing and ask for the latest report. Private wells are different. No utility tests them for you, so the owner must arrange testing through an accredited laboratory.

Call 811, the Pennsylvania One Call system, before any excavation. State law requires at least three business days' notice and no more than ten, and the call is free. Utilities then mark buried lines such as gas, electric, water and telecommunications with paint or flags. Dig by hand near the marks and keep them visible until the work ends. Contractors must call too, so do not assume a hired crew has done it for you. If you hit a gas line, leave the area immediately, call 911 and then notify the gas company.

First find out who serves the new address, because two houses on the same road can have different providers. Ask the landlord or seller, check a recent bill, or browse the county pages here. Then call each provider a few days before moving: electric, gas, water, sewer, and a propane or oil dealer if the home uses one. Have photo ID, the service address and your move-in date ready. Some providers ask for a deposit, and cooperatives such as Bedford Rural Electric Co-Op usually enroll customers as members. Ask each company for a final meter reading at your old address.