Tag: APCO
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“Free” Heat Pumps the Rest of Us Will Pay For
by Steve Haner A free heat pump for thousands of Virginians who are now using oil or propane to heat their homes, paid for by Virginia’s general population of electricity ratepayers. That is the goal of legislation that passed its first hurdle in a House of Delegate subcommittee Tuesday on a bipartisan vote. House Bill 2 is the…
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High Cost Kills One, Maybe Two Clean Economy Act Projects
by Steve Haner Citing the high cost, the Virginia State Corporation Commission on Friday denied a request to add a battery project to the Appalachian Power Company grid. In the same decision, an out-of-state wind project for Appalachian was approved, but only if it qualifies for major federal tax credits to keep down the cost. Without those tax credits,…
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Biting the Steady Hand That Lights Your House
By Steve Haner Three western Virginia politicians have penned a press release masquerading as a serious proposal. They seek to decertify a major monopoly electric utility which serves 540,000 Virginia accounts, the Appalachian Power Company, a division of American Electric Power. The letter was sent to the State Corporation Commission and then released, with…
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APCo Rate Case is a Battle of Accountants Over Details, Profit Margin
By Steve Haner The latest review of base rates for the Appalachian Power Company’s 540,000 Virginia customer accounts may end with yet another price increase, the second in two years, but a fierce and detailed battle of accountants will determine the size. The State Corporation Commission held a public comment session Monday and a full…
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Utilities Will Gamble on Nukes With Your $$$
By Steve Haner Standing firm against raising taxes is a fine thing, but it would help if Virginia’s leaders also stopped using people’s electricity bills to fund rent-seeking energy speculations. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has tweaked, but not vetoed, pending bills that allow both of Virginia’s investor-owned utilities to charge ratepayers for power plants that…
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Governor May Get Two Different Nuclear Bills
By Steve Haner A Virginia Senate committee voted Monday to approve a House of Delegates bill designed to finance a small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia, contradicting its own earlier vote for a much broader bill that had statewide application. Two different bills on the same topic might now pass the Virginia Senate. If…
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Electricity Bill Caps for Poor Start in November
by Steve Haner Beginning next winter, low- income customers of Dominion Energy Virginia or Appalachian Power Company will be eligible to have their monthly bills capped under a new state financial assistance program. The income cut off to qualify for Virginia’s new Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) assisting low income households with their electric…
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APCO VCEA Plan Keeps Coal Until 2040 (In WVA)
by Steve Haner Appalachian Power Company (APCO), serving Western Virginia, has now filed its annual update on Virginia Clean Economy Act compliance, including long term bill impact estimates. As the State Corporation Commission begins its review process, here are some highlights: The projected increases in electric bills are little changed and perhaps a bit lower…
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Consumers Be Wary When Energy Elephants Dance
By Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. The Virginia House of Delegates is expected to vote this week to exempt certain Virginia manufacturers, which ones to be determined later, from the coming wave of energy costs created by Virginia’s rapid transition to unreliable forms of power generation.
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Consequences of the Zero Carbon Fantasy
By Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Virginians may finally be waking up to the consequences of the headlong rush to adopt utopian energy policies under our previous governor. The issues are getting more attention than ever before, and now people need to realize that all the…
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When Politicians Run Power Companies
by Steve Haner Residential customers of Dominion Energy Virginia will soon be paying 55% more for electricity than they were when the Virginia General Assembly took over micromanaging utility regulation in 2007. The Western Virginia customers of Appalachian Power will have seen their electric bills rise by 92%. Underlying inflation for the period has been…
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VCEA Could Raise APCo Power Bills by Half
by Steve Haner Compliance with the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act will result in a 49% increase in monthly costs by 2035 for residential customers of the Appalachian Power Company, according to a State Corporation Commission staff analysis. That’s a $57 increase on a typical 2020 residential bill of $117. Rates on the largest industrial…
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Your PIPP Tax Will Buy Heat Pumps For Poor
by Steve Haner Lower-income Virginians who are customers of the two largest electricity providers may begin to receive subsidies on their residential bills in March 2022 under legislation moving forward in the General Assembly. The money for the subsidies will come from their fellow customers.
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Energy “PIPP” Proposal Just the TIP of an Iceberg
By Steve Haner As the State Corporation Commission prepares to set up Virginia’s first electricity cost shifting program, using a tax on all electric bills to provide discounts to low-income customers, advocates are already pushing to expand and enrich it. An expert hired by an environmental group argues in testimony that the General Assembly erred…
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How Discount Power For Poor Will Raise Your Bill
By Steve Haner Virginia’s two major electric utilities estimate that as many as 150,000 of their poorest residential customers will see their monthly bills reduced next year using money extracted from all their other customers on their own power bills. Appalachian Power Company projects about 30,000 of its low income customers will receive subsidies of…