CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On Tuesday evening, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia approved Appalachian Power Company’s plan to securitize its assets in order to recover over $2 billion in investments and expenses.
The PSC’s decision will allow the utility to sell bonds and set up a new rate-making method that allows them to collect money from its customers over a longer period of time. This cuts down on the number of surcharges and rate cases.
Just last week, the PSC turned down more than half of Appalachian Power’s request for a $250.5 million base rate increase. The PSC approved just $76.1 million and told the company they would not be able to collect the increase through traditional means.
The PSC also requested that the utility not change customer rates at this time when they made the base rate case ruling.
The order issued Tuesday allows Appalachian Power to consolidate under-recovered balances from pending cases that include expanded net energy costs (ENEC) and deferred storm costs from major storms. Included in those storms is Hurricane Helene.
Appalachian Power Company President Aaron Walker, in a statement, said they want to reduce the load customers are feeling.
“When we originally filed our case in 2024, we were focused on finding innovative ways to reduce the financial burden on our customers. We are pleased that the PSC agreed with our recommendation and saw the benefit of securitization to provide some relief to our customers,” Walker said.