Proposed bill to let Virginians choose their electric sources stalls
Senator Travis Hackworth, R — Tazewell, filed Senate Bill 1281, which is known as the AEP Accountability Act, in early January.
The bill would have allowed residential customers of Appalachian Power whose electric bills are more than 25% of the statewide average, as determined by the State Corporation Commission, to give Appalachian Power a 90-day notice before choosing a different electric provider.
The power lines are owned by AEP and any electric provider could transmit electricity across those lines with the State Corporation Commission regulating it, thus providing a choice to AEP customers should this bill go through, Hacksworth said when the bill was introduced. Electricity is available on a nationwide power grid, so Virginia consumers can get their power from other providers across the country.
"The power we get today may be coming from Ohio," Hackworth said then. "It's not just the power plant up the road."
Other power companies have less expensive rates, according to Hackworth. In one example, Dominion Energy's average monthly residential bill for 1200 KW of electricity was $133.08 in February 2024. In January 2024, the average Appalachian Power residential customer was paying $171.09 for 1000 KW of electricity.
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed by the bill indefinitely on Tuesday, according to the Legislative Information System.
"I am deeply disappointed in the vote to defeat my common sense legislation to allow greater freedom for Appalachian Power customers," Hackworth said. "The people in Southwest Virginia are hurting. We need relief and we need it now."
Hackworth said he proposed a limited pilot program that would allow local governments to aggregate their locality's customers together and select a licensed supplier to provide their power generation.
"This pilot program would provide meaningful relief," Hackworth said. "But, at the end of the day, I don't care what the relief looks like. It just needs to happen."
"This fight isn't over," Hackworth added. "Appalachian Power needs to listen to the cries of their customers and work with us to bring their rates down to the levels of their competitors."
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
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