CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Appalachian Power Company has come to an agreement with several parties on the amount of money the company plans to securitize by selling bonds on Wall Street.
Appalachian Power Senior Counsel Keith Fisher told state Public Service Commission Chairman Charlotte Lane Friday the amount is approximately $593.5 million.
“The parties have reached an agreement in principle, primarily to lock down a number for securitization,” Fisher said during Friday’s hearing.
Those at Friday’s hearing included representatives of Appalachian Power, Wheeling Power, PSC Staff, the state Consumer Advocate Division and the West Virginia Energy Users Group.
Securitization is a process that will allow the utility to sell bonds to recoup money invested instead of increasing rates on customers. The bonds would then be paid off over a longer period of time by customers.
The PSC granted Appalachian Power an inflationary rate hike this week that begins July 1 in exchange for the company finalizing its securitization plans and agreeing not to file for a base rate increase for at least another year.
The $593.5 million represents the amount Appalachian Power is still trying to collect with previous fuel cases and various surcharges.
Lane indicated how confusing the multiple cases and securitization can be. After hearing several minutes of discussion Friday she said, “I guess if it’s possible to make this any more complicated you all will do it,” Lane said.
The final proposed settlement has to be filed with the PSC by next Tuesday, June 30. The PSC has scheduled a hearing for July 22 to take testimony on the agreement.