power lines against a blue sky
Power lines in Lynchburg. Photo by Matt Busse.

State regulators have approved a request from Appalachian Power that is expected to lower the average residential customer’s monthly bill by $2.12 starting in October.

The change will partially offset an electric rate increase that raised the bill of a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month by $16 beginning in January. Appalachian has another rate increase request pending that would raise the average monthly bill by an additional $10 if approved.

The $2.12 monthly reduction stems from a request that Appalachian filed in June with the State Corporation Commission to reduce how much it charges customers for the cost of electric transmission services, fees and construction through a part of the monthly bill called the transmission rate adjustment clause, or T-RAC. 

Appalachian said its costs decreased, so it asked the SCC for permission to reduce its annual T-RAC figure from $413.2 million to $380.1 million to pass the savings on to customers. The SCC gave its approval on Monday.

Appalachian Power is Virginia’s second-largest electric utility and has more than 540,000 customers in Western Virginia.

Matt Busse covers business for Cardinal News. He can be reached at matt@cardinalnews.org or (434) 849-1197.