APCO wants to raise rates 19%

“Today APCO filed rate increase requests with the Virginia SCC,” said Dana Waldo, President of Appalachian Power.

And it’s not just any old rate increase. Try a 19% hike. Waldo compared the increase to the cost of a Happy Meal saying rates would go up to “$3.61 a day for electricity, an increase of about 55 cents a day.”

That’s the sales pitch. In reality, this hike would raise your bill $15 a month, $170 a year. And it doesn’t stop there. APCO already has two other rate increases before the SCC and if all three increases are approved, the average monthly bill will go up from $92 a month for 1000 kilowatt hours to $122. The quick math: that’s a $30 a month increase or $360 a year.

WARREN: “IS 19% REASONABLE?”

WALDO: “19% is the actual cost of what it will take for us to provide service.”

WARREN: “I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO THIS AND SAY ARE YOU KIDDING ME, YET AGAIN ANOTHER RATE INCREASE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM?”

WALDO: “I understand the issue that some customers are going to have trouble paying not only their electric bill but also the food bill, the mortgage. We understand the difficult times. That's why we have made the commitment to the keep the costs as low as possible.” He went on to say, “What we ask our customers to do is be conservative in how you use electricity, use their electricity wisely and contact us early if you need help.”

WARREN: “YOU SAY USE ELECTRICITY WISELY, BUT WHEN YOU KEEP INCREASING THE RATE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO END UP SAVING MONEY ARE YOU?”

WALDO: “Our rates on an inflation adjusted basis are going to be less today than they were in 1983. So we're keeping up with the rate of inflation. We're doing even better.”

WARREN: “OVER THE LONG HAUL YOUR RATES ARE BEHIND INFLATION, BUT OVER THE SHORT HAUL THEY ARE GREATLY ENLARGED COMPARED TO INFLATION. WE DON'T SEE 19% INCREASES IN EVERYTHING ELSE.”

WALDO: “If you take a very short time line.”

WARREN: “WELL WHAT PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO PAY THEIR BILLS IN A DOWN ECONOMY.”

WALDO: “And that's why we are saying we are going to try and provide as much assistance to those costumers as we can.”

Why does APCO need the rate hikes? Waldo says it will cover the increased cost to produce electricity and implement environmental improvements that are federally mandated.

He notes they are invested a million dollars in programs to help people pay their bills.

And finally, Waldo says the company is working to reduce costs by freezing salaries, limiting travel, and giving out no bonuses.

APCO’s profit for last year was 2%.