By Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia utility regulators have approved rate hikes for American Electric Power’s West Virginia utilities and Mountaineer Gas that, combined, will cost the average customers of both companies over $7 per month.
The West Virginia Public Service Commission authorized the rate increases for Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power on Tuesday and for Mountaineer Gas in orders issued Wednesday and Thursday.
The PSC’s Tuesday order approved a rate increase that Appalachian Power said will swell monthly bills by $1.03 for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours for the electric utilities to recover capital investments made between rate cases.
The PSC’s Wednesday order approved a Mountaineer Gas rate increase it says will cost the average monthly user $1.93 more a month for the utility to recover infrastructure upgrade costs it proposed incurring in 2024.
The agency’s Thursday order signed off a Mountaineer Gas base rate hike that will add $4.20 to the average customer’s monthly bill.