CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Appalachian Power, along with Wheeling Power, submitted its Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) filing yesterday to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) requesting a $297 million upward adjustment in the ENEC rate.
The ENEC reimburses the company on a dollar-for-dollar basis for coal and natural gas to fuel power plants and for purchased power. The company makes regular filings for ENEC adjustments to ensure the amount included in rates accurately reflects past and ongoing expenditures.
“With the steep and rapid rise in energy and fuel costs over the past several months, the ENEC revenues we collect from customers have been and are projected to be significantly less than the cost of the energy provided to customers,” said Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and COO. “The longer that goes on the greater the deficit grows, and that’s what necessitates this request.”
Currently the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours is $155.66. If approved as filed the adjustment would add $18.41 to that amount beginning September 1, 2022.
“It is difficult to make this filing, especially when inflationary pressures are burdening families on so many fronts,” said Beam. “However, if the unrecovered ENEC amount continues to grow it will become even more difficult to deal with in the future.”
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.