Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Appalachain Power proposes 18% rate hike

Yea, that's right. AEP is proposing yet another rate hike. This one's only 18%, a far cry from the 24% rate hike that got knocked back down to around 11 or 12% by the State Corporation Commission a few years ago. This will be an average increase of around $16 per month.

The average AEP customer's bill will go from $93 per month to $122 per month for 1,000 kilowatt-hours. This increase is separate from the Fuel Surcharge increase a while back.

What doesn't make sense to me is that with unemployment increasing, less people working in a place of business, and if you are out of a job you are likely not keeping all the lights on or driving a whole lot, wouldn't there be an increase in the fuel supply and less demand to drive up the cost? I know that this has something to do with "global markets" but isn't the rest of the world in a global economic downturn as well? So is this rate hike really needed or are they just trying to find more money for their new Coal Fired Plants?

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