ROANOKE, Va. – Your next Appalachian Power bill will likely be higher than it was this time last year or even last month. For the second time, the local utility company has introduced a second rate hike citing inflation as the reason.
The base rate charge for electricity will increase starting Oct. 1. This increase will add roughly $8.50 to the bill for a typical residential customer. The company also requested to increase the fuel rate starting Nov. 1. This increase would raise the bill for a typical residential customer by $20.
Officials with the company tell 10 News they asked the Virginia State Corporation Commission to approve the increases because “in today’s market, it costs more to generate and distribute electricity.”
“Costs are going up — all of us feel it at the grocery store and at the gas pump. Appalachian Power strives to keep customer costs as low as possible,” said company representative Teresa Hall.
“We understand the increase will be hard on some customers and encourage anyone struggling to reach out to us,” stated Hall. “We offer energy efficiency programs and a variety of payment options, including the Average Monthly Payment Plan (AMP). AMP is different from budget billing. AMP works to level a customer’s bill from month to month, which helps avoid seasonal spikes in the summer and winter months”