Appalachian Power, along with Wheeling Power, submitted its annual Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) filing today to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC). The filing requests $71.6 million to pay for fuel used to supply energy to our customers at cost. If this amount is included in the pending securitization filing with the PSC and approved, the need for an ENEC increase will be significantly reduced, if not eliminated.
The ENEC reimburses the companies on a dollar-for-dollar basis for coal and natural gas used to fuel power plants and for purchased power. The companies regularly file for ENEC adjustments to ensure the rates accurately reflect past and ongoing expenses.
If approved as filed and not included in the securitization amount, the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours would increase by $5.31 beginning Sept. 1.
“If the unrecovered ENEC amount keeps rising, it will create a larger financial strain for our customers down the line,” said Aaron Walker, president and chief operating officer of Appalachian Power. “Nevertheless, we recognize the immediate challenges our customers are experiencing, and therefore, we strongly advocate for including this outstanding balance in the securitization case currently pending with the Public Service Commission.”
Appalachian Power has 1.1 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 16,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 225,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP is also one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 29,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity.
