While also seeking a rate increase in Virginia, Appalachian Power Company also hopes to begin a new economic development incentive to draw jobs to the state.
APCo is asking the State Corporation Commission to create an “economic development rider” that would give discounts to large customers that locate or expand in the state.
To qualify, a company would have to add demand for at least one megawatt of electricity, said Barry Thomas, APCo’s director of regulatory services in Virginia. It also would have to add new jobs, although APCo has not set the number of jobs, Thomas said.
For three years, the company would receive a discount of up to 20 percent on the demand charge it pays to APCo, Thomas said.
The demand charge is based on the amount of APCo’s system that is reserved to meet that company’s demand, said APCo spokesman Todd Burns.
Thomas said that some large customers pay demand charges of more than $100,000 per month, so a 20 percent discount would be significant.
Another measure proposed by APCo would be designed to decrease the amount of electricity that industrial customers use.
Industrial facilities would sign up for this program and receive a discount on their electricity bills each month, Thomas said. In return, participating facilities would agree to cut their energy use at times when the cost of producing electricity or purchasing it off-system becomes too high, he said.
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