CHARLESTON,W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission heard testimony Friday on the proposed $63 million settlement of a rate case for FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison power companies.
FirstEnergy Director of Rates and Regulatory Affairs Kevin Wise told commissioners the proposed settlement of an original $151 million rate case filed earlier this year “resolves the issues and is a reasonable resolution of those issues in this case.”
One of the main features of the settlement is a $48 million tree-trimming program. The PSC required electric utilities to have a more consistent program following the 2012 derecho and Superstorm Sandy.
Wise said the settlement also includes reimbursement to the companies for what they spent in the aftermath of those storms.
“The companies have a total of about $45.9 million that was associated with that storm recovery,” Wise testified Friday.
If the $63 million settlement is approved, the average customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would see an increase of nearly $7.00-a-month from $92.62 to $99.52, or about 23 cents a day. The original proposal would have raised monthly bills by about $14.00 a month.
Other parts of the settlement include payment for the recent purchase of the Harrison Power Station and the cost to improve the companies’ meter reading efforts. Wise said they would also provide more funds for low-income customer assistance programs.
“It’s annual shareholder contribution of $150,000 (to the Dollar Energy Fund),” Wise said Friday. “This would not be part of rates and would not be recovered from customers. It would continue on an annual basis until the filing of the next base rate case in West Virginia.”
The PSC will make a decision on the $63 million settlement by Feb. 24, 2015.
Mon Power serves about 385,500 customers in 34 West Virginia counties and Potomac Edison serves about 135,000 customers in the state’s Eastern Panhandle.