This week, the Virginia State Corporation Commission will make a determination about whether many people in Virginia should pay higher power bills.
Appalachian Power is hoping state regulators will sign off on a request for the electric utility monopoly to make a higher profit margin. That’s a request that has to be approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
Republican Senator David Suetterlein of Roanoke County says state regulators should reject that request.
"Virginians as a whole, and especially the Virginians I represent in the Roanoke Valley, have been hit hard by increasing electric bills in part because the cost of electricity has gone up because the utilities sought legislation that would increase the cost of it, which would then make them more profitable," Suetterlein says. "I don't believe that we should also now increase the profit margin as well."
The delegation from the Roanoke Valley is united in their opposition, even across party lines. Delegate Sam Rasoul is a Democrat from Roanoke who says this request from Appalachian Power is too much.
"Which for people is $10 a month extra. It's just not the right signal to be sending," Rasoul says. "And there's no reason why ApCo needs this money other than for their own profit margin."
Appalachian Power says the latest version of the request would result in a smaller increase of $6.75 a month. The company says the money is needed to provide safe and reliable service.
Here is the entire statement from Appalachian Power:
Appalachian Power serves approximately 545,000 customers across southwest and central Virginia. The company’s biennial rate review application filed in March with the Virginia State Corporation Commission includes the base rates necessary to provide power to residential, commercial and industrial customers in our service territory. Our customers need safe and reliable service, and we work hard to meet those expectations while keeping costs as low as possible.
Background: Appalachian Power must file every two years for a base rate review under state law enacted last year. The application filed earlier this year is the company’s first application under the new state law. Reviews are an opportunity for the SCC to examine the company’s financial and operational performance, and any request to modify base rates for service.
Please note the following update regarding the impact to customer bills as this number has changed. Since the March filing, Appalachian Power has lowered its revenue requirement from approximately $95 million to $64.2 million. Under the revised revenue figure, the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours would increase $6.75.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
