Tag: First Energy

W.Va. PSC Sets Hearings on Electricity Rate Hike Request

  State regulators will hold public hearings in October on two FirstEnergy subsidiaries’ request for a $151.4 million rate increase.

Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison submitted the request to the Public Service Commission in April. The proposal was amended in June to add costs associated with reading customer meters.

The Journal reports that the proposed increase includes $103 million in base rate charges and $48.4 million for vegetation management.

If the rate hike is approved, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours would increase from $92.62 to $106.79.

The PSC has scheduled hearings Oct. 1 in Flatwoods, Oct. 2 in Morgantown and Oct. 6 in Shepherdstown.

Work Underway for Electric Project in W.Va. Shale Region

  FirstEnergy Corp. says construction is underway on a new transmission substation in Doddridge County to help meet the electric demands of the area’s rapidly expanding Marcellus Shale gas industry.

The company also says the new substation also will support and help enhance service reliability for Mon Power’s customers in Doddridge and neighboring counties.

Officials say crews recently completed the foundation work and erected steel structures at the new 11-acre site.

The $36 million project near Sherwood also includes a short transmission line to connect the new substation with an existing line located nearby.

The new substation is expected to be completed and operational in December 2014. 

Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties.

More Than 50,000 Without Power in West Virginia

 More than 50,000 customers remain without electricity after severe thunderstorms rolled through West Virginia.

Appalachian Power says on its website that nearly 49,000 customers had no service Wednesday across 16 counties in southern West Virginia. That includes nearly 13,000 customers in Cabell County, 8,000 in Wayne County and more than 5,000 each in Kanawha and Logan counties.

FirstEnergy says about 3,200 customers had no service.

The storms Tuesday night brought high wind gusts and lightning but no significant rainfall amounts.

The National Weather Service says more thunderstorms are possible in the state Wednesday.

PSC Orders Power Companies to Stop Estimating Bills

The state Public Service Commission has ordered Mon Power and Potomac Edison to implement monthly meter readings and billings following customer complaints.

The PSC released an order Wednesday in an investigation into the billing, meter reading and customer service practices of the FirstEnergy subsidiaries.
 
Under the order, the companies must implement monthly meter readings and billings as quickly as possible, but no later than July 1, 2015.
 
It also requires the companies to maintain adequate staff to perform the readings and to submit monthly reports to the commission through December 2015.
 
Citizens’ groups said customers complained about receiving multiple and contradictory bills in the same month, among other issues.
 
Mon Power and Potomac Edison serve about 520,000 customers in 37 West Virginia counties.
 

Mon Power, Potomac Edison Seek Rate Hike in W.Va.

  Mon Power and Potomac Edison are asking West Virginia regulators to increase the rates it charges its customers.
 
The FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries said they submitted the request to the Public Service Commission for the $96 million rate increase on Wednesday.

The request was filed to move the costs currently being collected for the Harrison generation transaction to its permanent rates. The filing also includes recovery of costs associated with storm repairs from the 2012 derecho and Hurricane Sandy, along with operating costs at power stations.
 
If the request is approved, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours would be about $106.79.
 
Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties and Potomac Edison serves about 135,000 customers in the state’s Eastern Panhandle.
 

Supreme Court Upholds PSC Approved Power Plant Sale

The West Virginia Supreme Court has sided with the state Public Service Commission on a decision to allow the sale of a Harrison County power plant.

The PSC approved the sale of Harrison Power Station in October 2013. In the deal, Mon Power would obtain about 80 percent ownership of the plant from Allegheny Energy Supply and become its sole owner.

In return, Allegheny would receive about 8 percent ownership of the Pleasants Power Station, becoming its sole owner as well, and $257 million. Mon Power has said they will pass the cost of the merger on to its consumers in their electricity rates.

The Citizen Action Group appealed the PSC’s decision, saying the price markup ruling violates stipulations of the merger agreement and contradicts commission policy.

The merger agreement CAG cites includes requirements for Mon Power to increase employment, invest in economic development, aid low income customers, increase energy efficiency programs, as well as other stipulations.

In a written opinion Wednesday, members of the state’s highest court disagreed with CAG and affirmed the original PSC approved agreement.

The transaction between Mon Power and Allegheny Energy, both First Energy subsidiaries, has already closed, but Mon has not yet increased rates for customers.
 

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