May 1—Appalachian Power, along with Wheeling Power, has submitted its annual Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) filing to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, in which it requested a $641.7 million increase to the current ENEC rate.

The ENEC is the mechanism for reimbursing the company for purchased power, and for the cost of coal and natural gas used to fuel power plants. The regularly filed cases present the opportunity to adjust the amount included in rates so that ongoing ENEC expenditures align with ENEC revenues, the company said in a press release.

As coal and natural gas prices rose dramatically in 2021 and remained high throughout 2022, the company paid far more for fuel and purchased power than the amount included in rates, according to statement issued by Appalachian Power. In the 12-month ENEC review period that ended Feb. 28, 2023, unrecovered costs grew from $216 million to almost $553 million.

"Recovering these costs over the traditional one-year period would place an enormous burden on our customers," said Aaron Walker, Appalachian Power president and COO. "To that end, we are proposing two creative cost recovery solutions in this filing that will minimize rate impact."

The first proposal would spread recovery over three years and raise residential rates by $293.1 million, or 12.1 percent. The second proposal utilizes securitization of the under-recovery and other cost items, and would raise residential rates by 3.5 percent or $88.8 million to align ongoing ENEC costs and revenues. The company requested that any approved adjustment take effect Sept. 1, 2023.

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com