Dominion Virginia Power has asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) for permission to reduce customer rates as a result of a fuel rate adjustment.
If approved, the fuel rate reduction of nearly 4.2%, or approximately $81.6m, will be the fourth time in 12 months that the fuel rate has decreased. This adjustment is expected to lower the average monthly bill of a typical residential customer who uses 1,000kWh each month by $1.24, or 1.2%, to $98.36 from $99.60. The new fuel rate is expected to be 28% less than the fuel rate that was in effect from June 30, 2009.
Dominion said that it maintains a balanced fuel mix, which reduces price volatility when one fuel source is relied on too heavily. The company’s 2.3 million Virginia customers in 2009 derived 33% of their electricity from coal, 32% from nuclear, 9% from natural gas, 1% from oil and 25% from the regional electric grid.
If approved by the SCC, the average monthly bill of a Dominion residential customer of $98.36 will be 16.7% less than the national average monthly bill of $118.11. It will also be 9.5% lower than the Dominion residential customer monthly bill of $108.73 in March 2009.
The company said it is also planning to add wind and additional biomass generation to its mix in the future to help meet its commitment to Virginia’s voluntary renewable energy portfolio standard of 15% by 2025. Dominion has received SCC approval this year for five demand-side management programs.