CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has issued an order addressing multiple rate-related issues involving Appalachian Power Company (APCo) and Wheeling Power Company (WPCo), including the elimination of several tariff mechanisms and potential future rate increases.
According to the order issued Thursday, the PSC is eliminating separate tariff rates previously used by the companies to recover yearly cost increases tied to certain capital investments, known as Modified Rate Base Cost (MRBC), as well as costs associated with their Vegetation Management Program (VMP) and broadband investment rate increment.
The Commission also directed the companies to provide a final accounting of what customers were billed under the MRBC rates between September 1, 2021, and August 28, 2025, to determine whether the companies under-recovered authorized costs during that period.
Similar accounting is required for vegetation management and broadband investments, which will be reviewed as part of the companies’ Expanded Net Energy Costs (ENEC) filings.
In addition, the PSC addressed the companies’ notice of intent to file a new base rate case. The Commission noted the most recent base rate case was filed in November 2024, with rates taking effect in August 2025.
Under current timelines, another filing could occur as early as May 6, 2026, with new rates potentially going into effect by March 2, 2027 — a gap of as little as 18 months between cases.
To address concerns about the frequency and size of rate increases, the PSC outlined an alternative approach. The Commission said it would approve an inflation-based rate increase beginning June 1, provided the companies agree to certain conditions.
These include committing to securitize more than $2.6 billion in assets rather than using traditional financing and agreeing not to file another base rate case before June 1, 2027.
If accepted, the approved increase would amount to 4 percent on the base rate portion of residential and commercial bills and 2.5 percent for industrial customers.
However, because the increase applies only to base rates and not total bills, the overall impact on customers would be lower. The PSC estimates the total revenue impact at approximately 2 percent, or about $40.1 million.
The increase would not apply to customers served under special contracts.
If the companies agree to the Commission’s conditions, the current notice to file a base rate case would be withdrawn, effectively delaying any new base rate filing until at least mid-2027.
The PSC said securitization — refinancing a large portion of utility assets — is expected to provide long-term benefits for customers. Unlike traditional financing, securitization does not include a return on equity and does not require income taxes on revenue used to repay the bonds, potentially lowering costs over time.
