Get ready for yet another rate hike on your power bill...

[Lance 228]

I hate these people...really....the sad part is that there is already ANOTHER rate hike riding right behind this one that will be voted on soon...when is this crap going to stop?

 

 

APCO rate hike approved

 

 

BLUEFIELD, Va. – Members of Virginia’s State Corporation Commission did not give Appalachian Power the rate hike it had requested, but the resulting increase will still affect consumers who could be seeing even greater hikes in their electric bills later, local officials said Monday.

 

Appalachian Power received the go-ahead to raise its prices in Virginia by 7.7 percent to recover the money spent buying fuel for generating electricity. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) reduced the company’s request by approximately $97 million, approving a hike of $129.5 million from July to August 2010.

 

According to the SCC, a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month will pay $7.16 more. Under the power company’s proposal, the bill would have increased by $12.21 a month, a hike of 13 percent.

 

Despite the reduction, the increase still has an impact on consumers, the region’s representatives in Richmond, Va., said.

 

“Well, it’s going to affect them a great deal. It’s still a huge increase,” said Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-District 38. “Keep in mind, we’ve got another one on its heels. We need to keep a close eye on this next one and see what’s going on.”

 

Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark, R-Wythe, said she had hoped consumers would not see such an increase.

 

“Although the SCC has reduced the amount requested by $97.3 million, I am still disappointed that there is an increase during the present economic situation,” Crockett-Stark said. “Given the economic hardships that so many families are facing and the present threat of increased energy cost because of federal Cap-and-Trade legislation, we must work toward innovative technologies and solutions that reduce the cost of energy and make sure that a regulatory structure is in place to protect consumers from unnecessary rate hikes.”

 

Local officials and human service providers said they were glad the price hike was not as great as APCO had applied for, but it would still be a challenge for local power users.

 

“Well, this is probably just a drop in the bucket for what’s to come,” said Bluefield, Va. Mayor Don Harris. “There are three more rate hikes. This Cap-and-Trade issue, if that’s approved, watch out. The sky’s going to be the limit on what rate hikes can be.”

 

“The concern I have as mayor of the Town of Bluefield, Va. knowing that all these tremendous rate hikes are coming down the pike, so to speak. I’m meeting with Supervisor Dave Anderson to see how we can get some funds to winterize some of the homes of the elderly and needy people in the area. They’re the ones caught in this,” Harris said. “We owe a great debt of gratitude to our elected representatives in Richmond from Southwest Virginia who spoke openly in opposition to the rate hike.”

 

One local human service provider that has helped with some utility bills had expected a bigger rate hike.

 

“It’s less than what they had asked for,” said Craig Hammond of the Bluefield Union Mission. “That’s good news because we were bracing ourselves for an even higher increase. We were expecting double digit increases in the electric power rate. It doesn’t help the situation we find with some of our unfortunate neighbors, but it certainly won’t exacerbate the problem. We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, and I think we got what we had hoped for.”

[GMan 3,569]

Actually, there are three more rate hikes that APCO has requested...

[buzzsawBeaver 12]

Don't know what to say really. If you watch a lot of the town meetings you see crowds of "working people" becoming increasingly very angry at their representatives, and might have read the recent news that many politicians canceled a lot of town meetings with the people they (supposedly) represent because of backlash against them.

In my opinion you can file these types of rate increases among the types of things people are going get very angry about to the point of taking some action against them in some way or another.

[sandman 13]

As long as you have a monopoly, that entity can charge whatever it wants for the commidity it produces.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

As long as you have a monopoly, that entity can charge whatever it wants for the commidity it produces.

 

Nailed it.

[RichlandsAlum 678]

As long as you have a monopoly, that entity can charge whatever it wants for the commidity it produces.

 

 

That is true.

 

However.....

 

AEP customers in Southwest Virginia are still on the lower end of the spectrum nationwide in terms of what they pay for electricity. The "best case" for customers actually seems to be a monopoly that is tightly regulated by the Commonwealth. Having formally adopted a policy of "deregulation" approximately 5 years ago, the General Assembly saw fit to "re-regulate" AEP.

 

No need to be happy about this, but the truth is that we're all going to be paying more for electricity until the supply of available energy increases significantly to meet demand. And that's not very likely under this administration, which would rather address the issue by having us sit in the dark.

[rjhall71 61]

Not sure what an average AEP bill is since i've been away from the area for about 6 years, but here in carlisle,pa the average bill is around $300. To top that off in Jan. 2010 the rate cap comes off and we are being told that our bills will increase by as much as 30%.

[Bulldog 82 11]

Can't wait until the Government slaps a carbon tax onto our electric bill.

[RichlandsAlum 678]

And the hits just keep on coming...

 

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/214968

 

Judge nixes Wise Co. coal power plant permit

Associated Press

 

RICHMOND -- In a victory for environmental groups, a Richmond judge on Tuesday invalidated a permit for a coal-burning power plant being built in southwestern Virginia.

 

Circuit Judge Margaret Spencer ruled that Dominion Virginia Power's mercury emissions permit for the Wise County plant would have improperly allowed the utility to adjust the limit after the plant is already operating.

 

Spencer said the State Air Pollution Control Board gave Dominion too much flexibility in complying with the mercury discharge limit, which must be met "irrespective of cost or achievability."

 

A coalition of environmental groups has been fighting to block the power plant for years, arguing that emissions would harm air and water quality and contribute to global warming. About 42,500 people from across Virginia have signed petitions and sent comments to state and company officials opposing the project, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

 

"This is an important victory for the health and welfare of Virginians," said Cale Jaffe, senior attorney for the law center. "We hope Dominion will take this ruling as a sign that it needs to leave expensive coal-fired power plants in the past and move quickly toward developing sustainable, clean energy sources for a 21st century green economy."

 

Spencer rejected six other claims raised by the environmentalists and upheld a second permit governing carbon dioxide emissions.

 

"Dominion is pleased that today's decision upholds virtually all of the conditions in both air permits, which may be the most stringent in the country," the utility said in a written statement. "We expect the remaining issue regarding mercury emissions will be resolved in a manner that will allow the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center to be completed on schedule."

 

Officials at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees the air pollution board, were reviewing the ruling and were unsure what effect it would have on the plant's construction, DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden said. Dominon said the plant is about 20 percent complete.

 

David Clementson, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Mims, said the office would work with its clients to determine the next course of action. Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said the company believes the problem can be fixed by the air pollution board.

 

In April, the environmental groups lost another challenge to the power plant in the state Supreme Court. In that case, the justices rejected the groups' claim that a state law authorizing the 585-megawatt power station violates the constitution's Commerce Clause because it favors the use of Virginia coal at the expense of out-of-state coal.

[buzzsawBeaver 12]

And the hits just keep on coming...

 

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/214968

 

Judge nixes Wise Co. coal power plant permit

Associated Press

 

RICHMOND -- In a victory for environmental groups, a Richmond judge on Tuesday invalidated a permit for a coal-burning power plant being built in southwestern Virginia.

 

Circuit Judge Margaret Spencer ruled that Dominion Virginia Power's mercury emissions permit for the Wise County plant would have improperly allowed the utility to adjust the limit after the plant is already operating.

 

Spencer said the State Air Pollution Control Board gave Dominion too much flexibility in complying with the mercury discharge limit, which must be met "irrespective of cost or achievability."

 

A coalition of environmental groups has been fighting to block the power plant for years, arguing that emissions would harm air and water quality and contribute to global warming. About 42,500 people from across Virginia have signed petitions and sent comments to state and company officials opposing the project, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

 

"This is an important victory for the health and welfare of Virginians," said Cale Jaffe, senior attorney for the law center. "We hope Dominion will take this ruling as a sign that it needs to leave expensive coal-fired power plants in the past and move quickly toward developing sustainable, clean energy sources for a 21st century green economy."

 

Spencer rejected six other claims raised by the environmentalists and upheld a second permit governing carbon dioxide emissions.

 

"Dominion is pleased that today's decision upholds virtually all of the conditions in both air permits, which may be the most stringent in the country," the utility said in a written statement. "We expect the remaining issue regarding mercury emissions will be resolved in a manner that will allow the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center to be completed on schedule."

 

Officials at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees the air pollution board, were reviewing the ruling and were unsure what effect it would have on the plant's construction, DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden said. Dominon said the plant is about 20 percent complete.

 

David Clementson, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Mims, said the office would work with its clients to determine the next course of action. Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said the company believes the problem can be fixed by the air pollution board.

 

In April, the environmental groups lost another challenge to the power plant in the state Supreme Court. In that case, the justices rejected the groups' claim that a state law authorizing the 585-megawatt power station violates the constitution's Commerce Clause because it favors the use of Virginia coal at the expense of out-of-state coal.

 

Something's really wrong in present day America when people have permitted these small types of groups, environmental groups, gays, ect. dictate to the majority what's done and put our very well being at risk for their agendas.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

And the hits just keep on coming...

 

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/214968

 

Judge nixes Wise Co. coal power plant permit

Associated Press

 

RICHMOND -- In a victory for environmental groups, a Richmond judge on Tuesday invalidated a permit for a coal-burning power plant being built in southwestern Virginia.

 

Circuit Judge Margaret Spencer ruled that Dominion Virginia Power's mercury emissions permit for the Wise County plant would have improperly allowed the utility to adjust the limit after the plant is already operating.

 

Spencer said the State Air Pollution Control Board gave Dominion too much flexibility in complying with the mercury discharge limit, which must be met "irrespective of cost or achievability."

 

A coalition of environmental groups has been fighting to block the power plant for years, arguing that emissions would harm air and water quality and contribute to global warming. About 42,500 people from across Virginia have signed petitions and sent comments to state and company officials opposing the project, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

 

"This is an important victory for the health and welfare of Virginians," said Cale Jaffe, senior attorney for the law center. "We hope Dominion will take this ruling as a sign that it needs to leave expensive coal-fired power plants in the past and move quickly toward developing sustainable, clean energy sources for a 21st century green economy."

 

Spencer rejected six other claims raised by the environmentalists and upheld a second permit governing carbon dioxide emissions.

 

"Dominion is pleased that today's decision upholds virtually all of the conditions in both air permits, which may be the most stringent in the country," the utility said in a written statement. "We expect the remaining issue regarding mercury emissions will be resolved in a manner that will allow the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center to be completed on schedule."

 

Officials at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees the air pollution board, were reviewing the ruling and were unsure what effect it would have on the plant's construction, DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden said. Dominon said the plant is about 20 percent complete.

 

David Clementson, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Mims, said the office would work with its clients to determine the next course of action. Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said the company believes the problem can be fixed by the air pollution board.

 

In April, the environmental groups lost another challenge to the power plant in the state Supreme Court. In that case, the justices rejected the groups' claim that a state law authorizing the 585-megawatt power station violates the constitution's Commerce Clause because it favors the use of Virginia coal at the expense of out-of-state coal.

 

Well, the judge made the proper ruling, sadly. If there's a mercury limit, there's a mercury limit. And the Commerce Clause has no application here, the justices are correct.

 

However, I'm very disheartened at this economic blow to SWVA. I hate seeing this project scrapped simply due to mercury violations. It's an incredibly difficult compromise to make.

[Lance 228]

you can delay it all you want...it's will be here eventually...too much money changing too many hands.