Pa. Dems target utility company profits as rates increase

May 26, 2026

Sign Up for the Keystone Labor Report Newsletter

Good afternoon everyone!

It’s Tuesday, May 26, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. You can find last Thursday’s newsletter here.

Even though it felt more fall-like outside this past weekend, I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend and was able to stay dry on Saturday.

One thing I picked up over the past year was playing guitar for the first time since I was in high school and college, and I decided to take advantage of a holiday sale and purchased a J. Mascis Squire Jazzmaster over the weekend.

I discovered Mascis, and his band Dinosaur Jr., while taking lessons over the past year and he’s easily becoming one of my favorite guitarists. You can listen to some of his music here.

Sean Kitchen

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

With the beginning of June right around the corner, millions of Pennsylvanians are going to see their electric and gas rates rise again, all while private utility companies like PECO Energy reap record profits.

To that end, Democrats in the Pennsylvania House recently introduced a bill to put limits on private utility profits by placing restrictions on return on equity, or how effectively a company turns shareholder investments into profits.

“ A lot of people’s interaction with energy pricing is really just their bill that they get in the mail or that they look at online,” State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), chair of the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee, said in an interview.

“The numbers that are in that bill, there is a whole process for arriving at those, and that’s really what this legislation gets at is putting limitations on how much return on equity can be made, and as a result, the whole goal is to lower people’s bills.”

Zach Rehl, a former leader with the Proud Boys’ Philadelphia chapter, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he “absolutely” intends to apply for a payout from President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for those convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the US Capitol.
US House Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) remained silent after being one of 13 US House Republicans to vote against making the housing market more affordable, per Pennlive.
ICYMI: an explosive story from New York Magazine takes a deep dive into US Sen. John Fetterman’s unpaid advisor and exposed discontent within his office. You can read it here.

(Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images via Getty Images)

Affordable Pennsylvania released a new ad highlighting US House Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s (R-Luzerne) votes to cut Medicare and Medicaid in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.

This prompted a prostate cancer survivor and Medicare recipient from Bresnahan’s district to speak out against his votes.

“That’s why it makes me angry that my congressman, Rob Bresnahan, would vote to cut Medicare and Medicaid to give huge tax breaks to large corporations and billionaires. Access to health care saved my life, and losing it would be devastating to families like mine. Rep. Bresnahan needs to reverse these cuts and start looking out for constituents like me,” Steve, a Wilkes-Barre resident, said in a statement.

WATCH Affordable PA’s ad here