Appalachian Power Bills Going Up, With More Increases Set

Appalachian Power has asked the West Virginia Public Service Commission to raise rates by 17 percent.

That’s on top of increases the PSC has already approved for fuel and environmental compliance costs and ahead of a hearing for Appalachian Power’s latest request to recover additional fuel expenses from electricity customers.

In a Friday filing, Appalachian power asked the PSC to increase annual rate revenues by $265 million. If the commission approves the increase, average residential monthly bills would rise by $28.72, or $344.64 over 12 months.

Appalachian Power says it has spent $1 billion since the last rate review improving generation, transmission and distribution. It proposes to recover those cost through a rate increase, as well as $118 million in storm damage repairs since 2019.

“These investments help ensure a resilient power grid that supports our customers’ current and future needs,” said Aaron Walker, Appalachian Power’s president and operating chief.

Well before Friday’s filing, Appalachian Power had faced a torrent of opposition to other costs it passed along to ratepayers. City and county governments, regular citizens and industrial users have protested the increases.

Without offering specifics, Walker said the company would work to mitigate the impact.

“We fully recognize the financial impact of rate increases on our customers,” he said.

The PSC earlier this week approved an increase in Appalachian Power’s environmental compliance surcharge.

It will raise the average residential customer’s monthly bill by nearly $3, according to the company. 

The increased surcharge will cover the cost of retrofitting three coal-burning power plants to meet federal standards for wastewater treatment and coal ash disposal.

The PSC approved an initial increase for the upgrades in 2021.

Starting Sept. 1, customers will pay an additional $2.50 a month for the next 10 years. The increase aims to address more than $300 million in fuel costs from higher coal prices in 2021 and 2022.

On Aug. 12, the PSC will hold a hearing on another Appalachian Power fuel cost case, one that could raise monthly bills by another $2.

In 2021, the PSC approved $448 million in environmental compliance upgrades for the John Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell power plants. Appalachian Power customers are paying the cost.

The upgrades allow them to operate past 2028. Otherwise, they would have been required to shut down then.

An expert witness submitted written testimony to the PSC last month that Appalachian Power was losing money on its coal plants by running them when it cost more for them to operate than the value of the electricity they generated.

The witness wrote that the plants lost $87 million during a 12-month period in 2022 and 2023. 

In a response, the company said it operated the plants prudently. It declined, however, to say whether electricity customers would pay for the losses.

According to federal data, West Virginia’s five utility owned coal plants produced less electricity last year than any year since 2001.

Surrounding states, meanwhile, have made a hard pivot from coal to gas, and most are also embracing renewables.