Appalachian Power has filed a request with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) seeking recovery of electric transmission costs. Submitted last week, the rate change is the first sought by the company since 2017 for transmission infrastructure improvements.
In its filing, Appalachian Power requested to increase the authorized Transmission Rate Adjustment Clause (T-RAC) from $225.1 million to $337.7 million, a $112.6 million increase. The T-RAC recovers costs for transmission services, fees and new construction. Appalachian is making significant investments in transmission infrastructure to improve grid reliability and accommodate the anticipated growth in renewable generation.
If approved by the Commission, the change will increase the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours by $11.52, or roughly 11 percent, effective in July 2021.
Rate adjustment clauses (RACs) allow Appalachian to adjust parts of the bill periodically for specific costs not included in base rates. This month’s filing was made to cover an increase in Network Integration Transmission Service (NITS) Charges administered by PJM, and an anticipated decline in revenues in the company’s base rate charges. PJM is the independent regional transmission organization that manages the electric grid in 13 states, including Virginia.
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 17,400 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 221,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 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 5,200 megawatts of renewable energy.
