State lawmakers are looking into ways to keep Appalachian Power Co. rates in check.
Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, called APCo’s rate increases over the past few years a “massive tax” that has put “working families in a horrible position.”
“I have told (APCo) just how disappointed I am in what they have done to my constituents,” he said.
Newman said he has told other legislators that he would help them on their proposals related to APCo. One of them, Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, is sponsoring a General Assembly resolution to order a study of whether APCo should continue as the monopoly electric utility for Central and Southwest Virginia.
“I think we are going to have to do something,” Newman said. “… I think we are going to have some pretty strong bills this year.”
APCo spokesman Todd Burns said that he doubts the bills in the General Assembly would actually cut electricity costs.
Most of the General Assembly’s proposals would return APCo to older regulations that would not work today, when capital and finance markets move much faster, Burns said.
“It would have a lot of the delayed (cost) recovery that was not a good thing, for either our company or our customers or our service territory,” Burns said. “If we don’t have the cash flow to recover what we’re spending, that can limit what we’re able to spend on the infrastructure our customers need.”
Here are some of the bills that were introduced in the General Assembly this month:
H.B. 477 — Would limit rate hikes to 5 percent if the unemployment rate in the service area is greater than 5 percent;
H.B. 1027 — Would stop allowing “enhanced rates of return” on investment. Currently APCo can earn higher returns if it meets certain standards;
H.B. 1190 — Would require a utility to build a power plant in Virginia before the enhanced returns are authorized;
S.B. 74, S.B. 680 and H.B. 639 — Would return APCo to the method of regulating utility rates the state used before 1999.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement