Fairmount 2026: Solar on the Rise While PECO Rates Keep Climbing

PHILADELPHIA, February 25, 2026 — On the same day PECO reported a 47.7% surge in net profits — following a year of double-digit rate hikes for residential customers — Fairmount was already running on solar. Sixty-six homes. 292 kilowatts.

Wallace Street leads the neighborhood with four installs spread across two consecutive blocks — the 2100 and the 2200. On the 2200 block of Fairmount Avenue, two solar neighbors sit side by side.

PECO rates have climbed steadily and show no signs of slowing. Surging demand and the broader electrification of homes and vehicles has triggered significant increases in PJM capacity auction costs — a regional grid charge on every Philadelphia electric bill. Layer on aging infrastructure and…well, everybody should decide for themselves what rates will continue to do. You can guess what we expect.

Solar States clients across Fairmount got off that escalator. Their neighbors are still on it.

Move the slider. Watch PECO’s take grow.

Today, Solar States offers two ways to do the same. Purchase a system and own your energy outright — no utility, no escalating rate, no surprises. Or lease at a fixed monthly rate that, in many cases, never goes up. Your PECO bill doesn’t have to keep climbing just because PECO wants it to.

Solar States, the 2022 Top Solar Changemaker, is a Philadelphia-based Certified B Corporation founded in 2008 with a dual-mission to install solar and educate the next generation of solar installers. We have completed more than 2,000 installations across the region (PA, NJ, DE), saving clients over $15 million in utility costs. Over 500 students graduated from our workforce development program, Find Your Power. Solar States has been featured in The Inquirer, The Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY, GreenPHL, and 6ABC Action News.