FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania unit seeks electric rate review

April 2 (Reuters) - FirstEnergy Corp on Tuesday said its Pennsylvania unit will ask the state's utilities commission to review its proposed increases in the base electricity rates.

"If (the request) approved, monthly bills would increase on average in the range of $16.61 to $21.30 or about 9.2% to 11.8% for a typical FirstEnergy Pennsylvania residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month," the company said in release.

The company also proposes to remove over 2.4 million trees and overhanging limbs, to avoid damage poles and wires, to "help reduce tree-related electric service interruptions."

Last year, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PPUC) granted an approval to FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania subsidiaries consolidate into single operating company, under terms of approved consolidation settlement, income-eligible customers to get total of $650,000 in bill assistance over 5 years. (Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru)