CHARLESTON, (W.Va.) – Appalachian Power, along with Wheeling Power, submitted a petition to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) to update current rates for the Modified Rate Base Cost (MRBC) tracker and surcharge mechanism. Initially approved in August 2021, the tracker allows limited recovery of costs associated with infrastructure investments made between base rate cases.
The MRBC is designed to provide timely cost recovery of incremental investments not recovered through current rates, and to decrease the magnitude and frequency of base rate case filings.
The company is proposing to increase MRBC rates currently in effect by $12.3 million, effective September 1, 2022. This represents a 0.77 percent increase, which is well below the 3 percent annual cap on the tracker ordered by the Commission. If approved, the monthly bill would rise $1.31 for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours.
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is part of American Electric Power, which is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions. AEP’s approximately 16,700 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million customers in 11 states. AEP is also one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 31,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 5,900 megawatts of renewable energy.
