Appalachian Power projects electricity rate increases of up to 55% by 2035, according to the Roanoke Times. Appalachian has filed a base rate hike request with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) for the third year in a row. In 2021, the SCC approved a $16 monthly increase for the average residential customer in the 30 counties served by Appalachian Power.
Key points from the article include:
- In 2020, the SCC denied a rate increase for $10, but Appalachian is appealing that ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court. The Court could overturn the SCC rejection and allow the rate increase.
- Appalachian wants to raise average monthly residential bills by $2.37 over the next year. This will cover the $32M cost to buy a utility-scale solar project in Pittsylvania County outright. And it will help buy electricity from projects in Bedford, Louisa, and Rockingham Counties.
- Appalachian asked the SCC to keep its cost projections for solar and wind projects sealed. These costs will drive future residential rate increases.
- Virginia Assistant Attorney General Mitch Burton has asked the SCC to unseal that information. He believes customers and the public have a right to know the basic cost information for company projects.
- The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) requires Appalachian to eliminate all carbon-based power sources by 2050. Coal accounts for 64.5% of Appalachian’s electric power supply and natural gas for 19.1%. Most of the rest comes from hydroelectric power.
- Appalachian has given six different options to the SCC that it says will let it meet its VCEA requirements.
Read the full article here:
Appalachian Power plans for its renewable energy future, Roanoke Times, 24 Apr 2022, Laurence Hammack