By RUSTY DENNEN
Higher electric bills are on the horizon.
Dominion Virginia Power yesterday announced a series of five rate filings with the State Corporation Commission that will increase the average monthly bill by $7.54. Based on 1,000 kilowatt hours, it would rise from $108.73 to $116.27 a month--up 6.9 percent.
The adjustments in Dominion's base rates, fuel charges and three other items would be phased in over the next 14 months, beginning in July.
Initially, average monthly bills would drop about $3.64 a month, starting July 1, because fuel prices have dropped by $236 million.
Dominion wants to collect $298 million by increasing its base rates by $6.29 a month, beginning Sept. 1, pending SCC action.
In its other filings Dominion is also seeking:
$77 million, or $1.40 a month, for the Bear Garden Power Station in Buckingham County, effective Jan. 1, 2010.
$78 million, $1.26 a month, to fund transmission projects and related expenses.
$99 million, $1.78 a month, for the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in Southwest Virginia, to take effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Dominion also filed a notice of intent to file for an increase of about $20 million to $30 million--40 to 50 cents a month--for new energy efficiency and conservation programs.
Dominion argues that the proposed increases are modest compared to what other utilities are requesting, and that it needed to keep up with growing power demand, mainly in Northern Virginia.
"The most important thing about this rate case is about the need for proper generation, transmission, distribution and conservation programs in place to support customers well into the future," said Dominion President David Heacock.
He noted that it's been 17 years since the company has had an increase in its base rates, which cover basic infrastructure costs and account for about 70 percent of a customer's bill. The General Assembly in 1999 capped Dominion's base rates at 1992 levels.
Fuel charges account for about 30 percent of customers' bills.
The last time Dominion raised its rates was in January--by $1.50 a month, to cover construction of a new power station--and last July, when monthly bills increased by $16.61 to cover increased fuel charges after energy costs spiked last summer. Dominion passes along those costs and cannot profit from them.
Between 1993 and 2008, Dominion says its typical monthly electric bill increased 19 percent. The U.S. average for U.S. utilities for the period is 49 percent.
"We all expect power to be there when we flip the switch," Heacock said. "Behind that switch is an amazing, interconnected grid of electric infrastructure--power stations, power lines, substations and more--that must be continually maintained, updated and expanded. That's what these filings are all about."
Dominion also said it plans to invest $7 billion by 2012 for environmental improvements, building new generation plants, reliability improvements and expanding the electrical grid.
The company expects to connect about 90,000 new customers by the end of 2011. It's projected that another 3,800 to 4,600 megawatts of generating capacity will be needed in Virginia within the next decade. Virginia is the nation's second-largest importer of electricity, behind California.
Critics, meanwhile, have been calling on Dominion to abandon plans for new coal-fired plants and to concentrate more of its resources on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and to achieve efficiency through conservation.
SCC action on the filings could take up to a year. The commissioners consider evidence from all sides and public comment.
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
| BASE RATES--These make up about 70 percent of typical customer's monthly bill. They cover basic infrastructure costs, including operation and maintenance of generation plants, transmission lines, substations and poles. They also cover salaries and other general business expenses, and can be changed only through a legal proceeding before the State Corporation Commission.
FUEL CHARGES--Account for 30 to 35 percent of customers' bills. Pays for the coal, natural gas, renewable energy and other sources from which Dominion generates power. They can be passed through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis, but the utility cannot profit on the pass-through. Utility Consumer Counselor, |