Old Dominion Power is asking state regulators for an increase in electric rates that would raise the average residential customer’s monthly bill by nearly $22.
But the proposed increase could be partially offset by an approximately $10 monthly decrease in fuel costs that took effect April 1.
Old Dominion Power, a subsidiary of Kentucky Utilities, provides electric service to about 28,000 Virginia customers in Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, and Wise counties. It’s the smallest investor-owned utility in Virginia.
ODP said in a filing with the State Corporation Commission that with its latest rate request it seeks an additional $9.4 million annually, which represents a 12.7% increase in total operating revenue, to provide a fair rate of return to its shareholders while continuing to invest in capital projects.
“The proposed increases in [Kentucky Utilities/Old Dominion Power’s] cost-based rates are driven by investments in, and operating costs associated with, providing safe and reliable service to customers,” Robert Conroy, the utility’s vice president of state regulation and rates, said in written testimony filed with the SCC.
Old Dominion Power said it will be unable to earn its state-authorized return on equity of 9% to 10%, or the 10.5% return it asks for in its latest request, without additional revenue. The utility’s rates were last changed in June 2022.
The company said in its SCC filing that its operating costs are lower than most utilities but as of July 31, 2025, it will have spent approximately $1.85 billion on capital projects since Dec. 1, 2022.
Such investments include approximately $349 million toward building a 621-megawatt natural gas combined cycle plant in Louisville, Kentucky, known as Mill Creek Unit 5; $129.2 million to deploy advanced electricity meters in Virginia; and $74 million to build a 120-megawatt solar facility in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Conroy said in his testimony that if the proposed increase is approved, the monthly bill for a residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will go up $19.46, from $139.03 to $158.49, a 14% increase.
Conroy noted that Old Dominion Power’s average residential customer uses more electricity than that — 1,143 kilowatt-hours rather than 1,000 — and so the average customer’s increase would be $21.52 monthly.
The proposed increase includes an adjustment to how much the utility charges per kilowatt-hour, plus a $3 increase in the fixed residential basic service charge from $12 to $15 monthly. The utility said that a higher fixed service charge would lead to less fluctuation in customers’ monthly bills.
Old Dominion Power is also asking to increase several other fees, including raising its disconnect/reconnect charge from $37 to $53.
ODP on April 1 reduced its fuel factor, primarily because of lower natural gas price forecasts, which lowered the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours by $9.53. The State Corporation Commission is still weighing whether to give its final approval to that reduction but allowed ODP to implement it in the meantime.
ODP’s rate increase request has drawn opposition from the Dickenson County Board of Supervisors, which wrote to the SCC saying it “will have a serious financial impact on Dickenson County citizens and cause additional financial strain when times are difficult with inflation and cost of living increases.”
The SCC has scheduled a public hearing on the rate increase proposal for 10 a.m. Nov. 13. Anyone who wants to comment during that hearing should, by Nov. 6, fill out a form on the SCC website, or email a PDF version of that completed form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov, or call 804-371-9141.
Comments can also be submitted via the SCC’s website, or by mail to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, VA 23218-2118. All comments should reference case No. PUR-2024-00052.