CHARLESTON, W.Va., June 29, 2010 – The Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia today approved a joint stipulation and settlement agreement for Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power in the companies’ Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) filing. The order means Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power residential customers will see an increase in their electric bills of about 20 cents a day.           

Residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month will see their monthly bill rise from $80.47 to $86.40, an increase of 7.4 percent. The increase for other customer classes, like commercial or industrial customers, will vary slightly.
           
The Commission order grants the companies a combined annual increase in revenues this year of approximately 8.2 percent or $96 million, effective July 1. The increase includes the companies’ annual adjustment of rates for fuel and purchased power expenses, which are passed through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis with no profit for the company. It also includes some expenses for environmental compliance projects, primarily scrubbers at the John E. Amos Plant near Winfield.

This increase brings Appalachian’s residential rates for electricity to 8.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Rates for Appalachian’s West Virginia customers are 27 percent below the national average of 11.76 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Customers are urged to manage their energy use wisely and to visit the company’s Internet site (www.WattWhyAndHow.com) for energy-saving tips and access to a free home energy calculator that can help explain how to conserve electricity. The site also provides information on payment options available to customers.

Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.