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Appalachian Power is seeking to recover $297 million from ratepayers. They will get a chance to speak out, starting Wednesday at the Ohio County Courthouse in Wheeling.
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The state Public Service Commission will hold public hearings later this month on Appalachian Power’s proposed $297 million rate increase.
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The average residential user will pay about $9 more a month, or about 9 percent. For 1,000 kilowatt hours, that means a total of $115 a month.
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According to filings this week with the Public Service Commission, the average monthly Appalachian Power bill in West Virginia is $155.
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The company has filed written testimony in recent weeks to the PSC that the cost of coal has risen from $35 a ton in 2020 to $84 a ton.
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The sharply higher cost of coal and natural gas is behind the request. Coal prices have more than doubled from a year ago, and natural gas prices have more than tripled.
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Appalachian Power has about 500,000 customers in Virginia who receive power from the Mountaineer and John Amos power plants.
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In testimony in recent weeks filed with the state Public Service Commission, American Electric Power told regulators it couldn’t replenish its coal supply after September because of high worldwide demand.
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Critics have questioned whether all three plants will be needed as coal continues to lose ground to natural gas and renewables.
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An ownership agreement currently before state regulators could result in the shutdown of one of the plant’s two units, or repowering it with natural gas, two technical experts testified.