RICHMOND — The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has approved a new fuel rate requested by Appalachian Power Company that will take effect on June 22, 2012.

The new fuel rate is 2.953 cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh), which represents an increase of 0.756 ¢/kWh from the fuel factor of 2.197¢/kWh established by the Commission in 2010. For the average residential customer, the fuel rate increase means the monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will increase $7.56, or approximately 7.2 percent.

The Commission has also approved Appalachian’s proposal of a longer period for collecting its under-recovery balance of expenses.

The SCC found that “… given the significant rate impact of the level of projected fuel expenses in the proceeding, the Company’s proposed mitigation measure to recover its deferred fuel balance over a twenty-four month period is reasonable.”

The fuel rate is the portion of the electric bill that pays for the cost of fuel used to generate electricity and reflects the wholesale purchase and sales of power.

The fuel rate is reviewed annually by the Commission and re-set, as necessary, to reflect actual fuel expenses for the previous year and projected fuel expenses for the coming year.

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Case Number PUE-2012-00051