Consumer Advocates Oppose Request for Rate Hike from Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power
Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, subsidiaries of American Electric Power, are seeking approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) in West Virginia to increase rates for their customers by $321.1 million over a ten-year period. Consumer advocates oppose this request, arguing that it is unwarranted and linked to questionable actions regarding the companies' coal-fired power generation practices. The companies had initially requested an even higher rate hike of $552.9 million in a prior case, but were reduced after data showed their coal-fired plants operated with low capacity factors, often below 10%, which fails to meet the PSC's threshold for self-generation and can result in inefficient operations and reliance on external power sources.
