Appalachian Power rates to rise 10% for Virginia customers - WJHL-TV News Channel 11

Appalachian Power rates to rise 10% for Virginia customers | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

RICHMOND, Va. (WJHL) — Appalachian Power customers in Southwest Virginia will see their electricity rates increase by 10% starting Jan. 29, which the utility says will add about $16 a month to the average residential customer’s bill.

Virginia’s State Corporation Commission approved the rate hike Thursday as part of its “triennial review” of Appalachian’s base rates. The company had asked in March for an increase that would have added an average $25 a month to bills. Appalachian bases its estimates on 1,000-kilowatt hours of monthly usage.

While the eventual rate was easier on consumers than Appalachian’s proposal, the commission was forced by law to eliminate a proposed $8 a month fee exemption for low-income customers. That option wasn’t opposed by either the interest groups who expressed opinions during the process or by Appalachian, but the commission said the law requires public utilities to “charge uniformly (anyone) using such service under like conditions.”

But the final rule from the commission also noted that Appalachian had initially requested a rate increase that would have upped its revenues by $212.6 million over current rates and that was cut to $127.3 million during the negotiation process.

“(T)he Commission is sensitive to the rising costs affecting all of APCo’s customers, including APCo’s low-income customers in particular,” the ruling said. The Virginia General Assembly has passed a law creating a “Percentage of Income Payment Program,” and the commission “directed” Appalachian to determine whether the low-income customer charge exemption or some similar program could be a component of that.

Appalachian Power’s Teresa Hall said in a statement the company will continue to seek ways to ease the burden on low-income customers.

“We respectfully understand the Commission’s legal position regarding our proposal to reduce costs for Appalachian Power’s lower income customers,” Hall said. “Going forward, we will continue to look for new ways and opportunities to work with and assist our lower income households.”

The PIPP program was passed in 2021. It caps electricity bills for eligible customers at 10% of household income if a home gets its primary heat from electricity and 6% if not. The income limit for the program is 150% of the federal poverty level, which equals $21,870 for a single person, and ticks upward to $45,000 for a family of four.

Hall said the primary reason for the increase was higher material and labor costs.

“We are pleased with the Virginia SCC’s order,” she said. “With the order, Appalachian Power also received approval to ramp up the company’s vegetation management and other work to improve service reliability.”

Appalachian Power, based in Charleston, W.Va., provides power to nearly all of Southwest Virginia with the exception of Lee County. It also serves Kingsport, Tenn., but rates there are governed by Tennessee’s Public Service Commission.