Dominion Virginia Power is asking the state for permission to raise customers’ power bills 7 percent.
The company filed five requests and one notice of intent with the State Corporation Commission on Tuesday that, if approved, would result in a 6.9 percent increase in rates for a typical residential customer. The increases would be phased in over the next 14 months, with the first change starting July 1.
The net effect of all the proposed rate changes on a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would be an increase of about $7.54 a month, from $108.73 to $116.27. The increase would come through a series of rate adjustments between July 1 and May 1, 2010.
The proposed increases pale in comparison to the 72 percent jump Maryland electric utility Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. asked for after state-mandated price caps were removed in 2006. Outrage throughout Maryland forced the Baltimore utility to reduce the increase, and efforts to re-regulate electricity supply are working their way through the Maryland General Assembly.
Dominion said it hasn’t asked the state for an increase in the base rate since 1992.
“We know our customers expect us to keep electric rates as affordable as possible,” said David Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power. “There is a point, however, after nearly 17 years, where adjustments in rates are required to accommodate the multitude of higher costs we face and the need to undertake a significant expansion in infrastructure that must occur to maintain reliable service in the commonwealth over the next several years.”
Heacock said Dominion Virginia was the second-largest importer of electricity behind California, and that investments in new infrastructure would decrease the demand on imported electricity in the future.
Dominion also has filed a notice of intent for an increase of about $20 million to $30 million — or 40 cents to 50 cents a month — for energy efficiency and conservation programs.
Dominion Virginia provides power to about 2.3 million customers in Virginia, including 800,000 in Northern Virginia.
