Virginia regulators to weigh Appalachian Power Company rate increase

Appalachian Power Company, Virginia’s second-largest electric utility, is asking regulators for a big rate increase, citing inadequate revenues over the past three years and rising costs.

If the State Corporation Commission agrees to the rate hike, it would increase the average monthly residential bill by about $20.

Because of how much the company says it has underearned over the last three years, rates will almost certainly increase over the next year. But other groups, including the Office of the Attorney General, are pushing back against the size of the utility’s request, and particularly its desire to see a major rise in the profits it’s allowed to earn.

The rate case is when the SCC reviews what the company has earned and sets the rates customers will pay going forward as well as the company’s new profit level. In the current case, Appalachian Power is asking to earn an additional $212 million annually, a 14.3% increase from what it was previously allowed to earn. It is also seeking approval of a new profit level of 10.6%, a jump from its current level of 9.2%.