Allegheny Power, the electric delivery subsidiary of Allegheny Energy, has submitted a request to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to recover an additional $173 million in fuel and purchased power costs, effective January 1, 2009.
The filing was made jointly by Monongahela Power Company and The Potomac Edison Company, both subsidiaries of Allegheny Energy.
The proposed increase is largely due to the dramatic rise in coal prices, which is said to be the single largest component of Allegheny’s cost of producing electricity.
After the proposed rate increase, the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours will be approximately $86, an increase of about $13 compared to current rates. This is said to be well below the regional average of $100 and the national average of $104.