Appalachian Power, Wheeling Power file cost recovery submissions for West Virginia
Looking to recover costs associated with increased fuel and vegetation management expenditures, Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power recently submitted new Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) and Vegetation Management Program (VMP) filings with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC).
“While the company has taken steps to minimize increases in our customer rates, we understand any increase can be a challenge,” Aaron Walker, president and COO of Appalachian Power, said. “These adjustments are necessary to ensure that the amount of money being collected from customers matches the actual costs incurred by the companies.”
These come in two stages. First, the ENEC is meant to reimburse companies dollar-for-dollar for coal and natural gas expenditures used to fuel power plants and purchase power. In that filing, Appalachian and Wheeling proposed a $1.9 million decrease in rates for residential customers, while upping costs for other customers by $22.3 million. This would add to the rate increase already rolled out in September last year.
On the other hand, the VMP reimburses companies for right-of-way vegetation management. In this filing, the companies sought increases to rates across the board, by $1.2 million. That would be a 0.07 percent increase, and is the first such rate increase since September 2021.
With all figures factored in, if these changes are approved the average residential customer would see their monthly bills go down a small amount – approximately $0.47 – as of September 2024.
