FLATWOODS, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission kicks off three days of public hearings on Wednesday to listen to what customers of Mon Power and Potomac Edison have to say about a proposed 17 percent rate hike. AARP of West Virginia wants to make sure seniors get out and voice their concerns.
There will be a total of six hearings, two each day in a different city, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The first is in Flatwoods at the Days Hotel.
Tom Hunter, with AARP, says a 17 percent hike in electric bills puts senior citizens in an unenviable position.
“Many of those individuals, when forced with a double digit increase in one utility bill, are in a position where they have to choose between food and medicines or paying utility bills,” according to Hunter.
Mon Power and Potomac Edison are asking for a hike in their base rate and to help cover the cost of clearing away vegetation from their rights of way. A portion of the case also includes the opportunity for the companies to recover the cost of the 2012 derecho and Superstorm Sandy. The impact to the average customer would add up to about $14 more per month. However, Hunter said enough is enough.
“(Customers) should not be paying more than what is fair and reasonable for those essential utility services,” he stressed.
At least one member of the PSC must be present during the hearings. The other two are being held in Morgantown at the Waterfront Hotel on Thursday and at Shepherd University on Monday, Oct. 6.
In the last few years, Hunter said the PSC has really listened to what ratepayers have to say. In many cases the commissioners have refused to give the company the full amount of the requested rate hike. But the only way to make sure that happens, Hunter explained, is for seniors to speak out.
“Without ratepayers expressing their concerns about the personal impact that these types of rate increases have on their household budget, the PSC is not likely to take that action.”
AARP in West Virginia represents about 300,000 people 50 and older.