CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission has turned down more than half of Appalachian Power Company’s request for a $250.5 million base rate increase.
The PSC approved $76.1 million in an order issued late Thursday and at the same time told the utility it cannot collect the increase through traditional means.
“The companies will continue to bill customers at the current rates so there is no increase on customer bills resulting from this decision,” the PSC said.
Instead, the PSC said it will approve Appalachian Power’s securitization plan in an order that the PSC said would come out “very soon.”
Appalachian Power previously asked the PSC to allow it to securitize the money its needs by selling bonds on Wall Street and setting up a new rate-making method that would allow the company to collect money from customers over a long period of time cutting down on the number of surcharges and rate cases. Virginia regulators have approved a similar plan for Appalachian Power in that state.
The average customer was going to pay about 14 percent more a month if the original request was approved in full.
Energy Efficient West Virginia Policy Director Emmett Pepper called the decision “overall a really great outcome for this case.”
“They asked for $250 million, it was slashed by more than two-thirds, so that’s a benefit to ratepayers,” Pepper told MetroNews. “The low-income program is being preserved and enhanced–is another benefit for folks who are struggling.”
The reaction was mxed from Appalachian Power Companyh President Aaron Walker.
“We’re pleased that the PSC saw the advantages for our customers in our securitization plan,” Walker said in a news release. “However, we are disappointed that the PSC didn’t recognize the full investment made on the system on behalf of our customers.”
Pepper said the PSC is listening to customers who are burdened by the many rate increases over the past 15 years.
“There were 5,000 comments came in, more than any case in the history of the PSC, as far as I can tell,” Pepper said. “There is outrage about these issues and I do believe the Commission is listening.”
One of the speakers at a June public hearing was Valery Staskey who said this is a tough economic time in a state with many struggling, and an increase won’t help matters.
“I cannot imagine how people with less than I are surviving. What AEP is proposing, once again, is not just a rate hike, it’s a hardship,” Staskey said. “It’s a threat to health, safety, and human dignity. It puts impossible choices in front of people who are already stretched to the breaking point.”
The new order makes solar energy more attractive for customers, Pepper said.
As the order said, the securitization piece will come out soon. Pepper is also waiting on the PSC’s decision on the latest fuel cost case filed by Appalachian Power.
Appalachian Power said it will conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a summer rate plan for residential customers.