Thursday, August 27, 2009
SCC to seek public input on Appalachian rate plan
The hearings will address the power company's proposal to raise its base rate to cover its costs.
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In November, the Virginia State Corporation Commission plans to venture out from Richmond again to solicit comments from residents of Southwest Virginia about a proposed rate increase by Appalachian Power Co.
On Nov. 18, the commission will hold a public hearing in Abingdon. The next day commissioners will convene a hearing in Rocky Mount. Both will begin at 6 p.m.
The SCC said the hearings will provide residents of Appalachian's service territory in Southwest Virginia "more convenient locations to offer testimony as public witnesses."
The focus this time will be Appalachian's application for an increase in the base rate it charges customers to cover costs for the generation and distribution of electricity.
As proposed, the base rate increase would raise the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours by about $15.65, an increase of about 17 percent. If the SCC approves a requested increase in a transmission surcharge, that same customer will see an increase of about 19 percent on top of an approved increase in a fuel factor rate of about 7.7 percent.
On July 1, SCC commissioners held a public hearing in Wytheville about Appalachian's request for the fuel factor increase. Related revenues cover the utility's costs for fuels used to generate electricity.
Speaker after speaker voiced opposition to the increase. They cited concerns about impacts of a significant increase during a recession on already struggling businesses and households.
On Aug. 3, the commission announced it had approved a fuel factor increase that was less than the company had requested. For the same typical residential customers, under Appalachian's original application, such a customer would have paid $12.21 more a month, or 13.1 percent. Instead, the customer cited will pay an increase of $7.16 per month, or 7.7 percent.
Appalachian also has applied to the commission for a 3.5 percent increase in a surcharge that allows the utility to recover money spent on environmental compliance and maintenance of a reliable system.
For the base rate case, the commission will hold its Richmond public hearing at 10 a.m. March 16.
Appalachian, a subsidiary of Ohio-based American Electric Power, has about 500,000 customers in Virginia.
