RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 9, 2006 – Appalachian Power, a unit of American Electric Power (AEP), has made a filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) seeking approval for an increase to the fuel component of its customers’ bills.
 
The fuel factor portion of a customer’s bill is a “pass through” reimbursement of the company’s fuel costs and does not include a profit component. On average, it makes up approximately 30 percent of an Appalachian Power customer’s price for electricity in Virginia.
 
The company seeks to adjust its fuel factor from the current level of 1.785 cents per kilowatt-hour (KWH) to 2.030 cents per KWH, to be effective for the calendar year 2007.  The proposal will result in an increase in the company’s annual Virginia revenue of approximately $38.7 million, or 4.0 percent.
 
The proposed adjustment reflects a rise to the company of historic, current and projected costs for fuel required in the generation of electricity for the remainder of 2006 and through 2007. 
 
If the adjustment is approved as requested, an Appalachian Power residential customer who uses 1,000 KWH in a billing month will see an increase of 3.2 percent or $2.45 for that month’s bill (from $76.89 to $79.34 excluding local utility taxes).
 
The company’s fuel factor was adjusted last in January 2006. Pending approval of today’s filing by the SCC, the company asks that the increase become effective on customers’ bills beginning January 1, 2007.
 
Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.  It serves more than 500,000 customers in southwestern Virginia.  It is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states.  AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S.