Appalachian Power offers one-time, $22M tax credit to customers

Residential customers of Appalachian Power in Virginia will receive around $22.50 — based on 1,000 kilowatt-hour per month averages — off their bills this month as part of a $22 million tax credit stemming from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The current estimated bill for such energy usage averages $110.79. The deduction shaves around one-fifth off customers’ total cost. It is a one-time offer that will be automatically deducted from current charges, with individual credits dependant on accounts’ historical energy usage. It will be displayed as a line item charge.

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent last year. As a result, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) required utilities to preserve any savings from the tax cut and pass it along to customers.

This builds on other efforts Appalachian Power has taken on its own, however. The utility notes that it has reduced its Virginia retail base rates by around $80 million on an annual basis to adjust for the estimated change in taxes. It also worked with the SCC to accelerate the return of another $55 million associated with the tax cut before last winter, to offset fuel cost increases.