Power Utility Asks for Reduced Property Tax Assessment

Appalachian Power Co. is asking for a reduced property tax assessment in West Virginia for the 2018 tax year, citing a combination of a mild summer and winter that has hurt business.

Thomas Johnson, of Appalachian Power’s parent company, told the state Board of Public Works on Thursday, “The utility business tends to be a weather business.”

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that in making its tentative assessment, the state Tax Department assumed a 4 percent growth in income for the company, to about $575 million, while Johnson said a fairer projection would be around $550 million.

That would reduce Appalachian Power’s assessed value and lower its property tax to less than $300,000 due to the state.

State Property Tax Division director Jeff Amburgey said he will review the company’s request.