Lawmakers target Appalachian Power in push to lower electric bills across Southwest Virginia

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) — Electric bills across Southwest Virginia have left many families struggling to keep up.

Now, lawmakers are preparing to take another crack at the issue. Next week, they’ll announce a package of bills aimed at energy affordability.

For many families in Southwest Virginia, opening the electric bill comes with a sense of dread. Some customers report bills reaching a thousand, even two thousand dollars a month.

That’s why Tuesday, lawmakers plan to introduce an omnibus package of bills targeting Appalachian Power and energy affordability.

“Over the years they have manipulated the rules to, in my opinion, be able to steal money from innocent Virginians, and we’ve got to stop that with these AEP bills,” said Sam Rasoul, Democratic Delegate with the 38th District.

Appalachian Power says it shares the goal of lowering costs, but takes issue with the approach.

“It’s disheartening because we all have the same goal. We want to try to lower costs for our customers in our territory,” said George Porter, spokesperson for Appalachian Power.

They say they have tried to work with lawmakers.

“We’ve tried to start conversations and figure the best way to keep these costs down, but it seems like it’s been a one-sided process,” said Porter.

APCO points to last session’s legislation, saying customers should see savings because of it.

But lawmakers like Republican State Senator Mark Peake think more needs to be done. He is proposing legislation that would repeal regulations on carbon dioxide emissions saying those Democratic-backed regulations are ultimately hurting citizens.

“They are putting unsustainable, unreachable burdens on our power producers so they are not building new plants and that’s why our citizens have to pay such high electric bills,” said Peake.

But Rasoul acknowledges that didn’t go far enough.

“We need harder rules to ensure that people are protected and that we are bringing down electric bills,” said Rasoul.

APCO says customers who are struggling should reach out directly.

“Your first call should be to the power company so we can help you,” said Porter.

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