A quietly-noticed pattern in residential energy: households are told to "check your Price to Compare," but almost no one explains WHEN that number changes — and the reset schedule is where the bill shocks actually come from. The default-service rate a utility sets isn't a market price ticking in real time; it's the output of a scheduled procurement process, and each state — often each utility — resets it on its own calendar.
Pennsylvania is the cleanest example. Default-service Price to Compare rates there reset twice a year, June 1 and December 1, built on a layered hedging program that blends supply purchased over the prior 12–18 months. That lag is why the June 1, 2026 reset pushed rates up broadly even where wholesale had cooled — Penelec's default rate rose about 11.9% to 13.14¢/kWh, PECO to 11.57¢, Duquesne to 14.14¢. A customer who never shopped simply inherited the new number on the first of the month.
Ohio breaks the "one calendar" assumption entirely. There is no single statewide reset. AEP Ohio's standard service offer can change roughly six times a year (January, April, June, July, October); the FirstEnergy companies — Illuminating, Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison — adjust quarterly; AES Ohio publishes once annually, effective June 1; and Duke Energy Ohio resets monthly. Same state, four different rhythms — which is how the all-in EIA average (about 18.78¢/kWh) and the shoppable supply portion (roughly 10.7–11.1¢) drift apart on schedules a household can't see.
Illinois adds another variation: ComEd's default supply charge adjusts on a rolling basis rather than a fixed semi-annual date, so the "am I overpaying?" answer changes more often than most customers check.
Texas is the useful contrast — no regulated Price to Compare at all. In the ERCOT retail-choice market the number moves with the plan and the season (roughly 14.6–16.8¢/kWh across delivery zones this summer), not a PUC reset date.
What this means for anyone advising residential customers: "shop your rate" is incomplete advice without the calendar. The move is to check the default rate in the weeks BEFORE a known reset — not after the higher number has already landed on the bill.
Sources: EIA; Pennsylvania PUC and utility default-service filings; PUCO / Ohio utility SSO schedules.