Is Your Electric Bill Going Up?
Robert Baird/Tricities.com
Are you shocked over your most-recent utility bills?
Are you struggling with ways to compensate for soaring power costs?
If you’re willing to share your bills and plans with the Bristol Herald Courier, please give us a call.
We’re planning a series of stories on how Bristolians are coping with an ever-increasing cost of living.
Please contact Gary Gray at or (276) 645-2512; or David McGee at or (276) 645-2532.
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Reader Reactions
Hey dadw5boys, would you happen to have any contact information on that wind generator?
This is to everybody that me feel intimidated to contact an elected official. It is very easy to do. You can go to their website and get phone numbers and a direct email link. If you call one of his pages will answer and probably ask your name, zip code or full address, and the reason for the call. They will be polite as long as you are. I recommend the direct email link from their official website. It is more likely to get you a formal response in the form of a letter. I save copies of all emails I send and the response letters just in case. I urge everyone to do this and have all friends and family do the same. Power to the people.
Megr, thank you. It will take the 1000’s for anything to be done. I am not confident we can accomplish our goal of lowering the rate increase demonstrating against the utilities but we certainly can impact our elected officials. If enough people will join us with the same effort we are performing I feel sure we would hear from these officials that were elected to serve the people. Someone to make them realize we are serious and it has begun with us!!! Please join us people, contact your Senators and Congressman Rick Boucher who Represents the 9th District in VA and make them aware of this price increase. Make them aware that you are not able to pay this increase. If enough people are telling them the same thing they will not be able to ignore us.
If we don’t do this NOW we will forever be defeated!
For about $400 dolars you can build a wind generator that will provide enough power to heat a home if you have at least 7 mph wind.
Hey Abingdon Residence, at least you received a response. I can’t even get that and I have written and emailed every and any address I can get my hands on, both local and state. I will def use your response in my next round of correspondence. You know, we elect the officals we “THINK” would support the needs of the area BUT, I feel like it doesn’t matter who we elect. They are going to go to Washington and I guess there is a new kind of peer pressure up there. My dream…have someone wire me a windmill on my property (OH GOSH. I might offened someone, or create an unsightly vulgar thing, or heaven knows, hurt someone’s property value)and tell the electric company to kiss my…(well you know) but then someone will find a way to make us pay Mother Nature for using the wind. Money, Money, Money. The ever love of money is going to cost this country in a real big way. This is my opinion and I am sticking to it!!!!!
Driving the Financial Markets into crisis places the suppliers of raw materials in the drivers seat for pricing.
Only direct investment to establish new business that will provide competition to those companys will bring prices down.
In other words Coal is cashing out because they know that solar and wind are going to replace them. They have spent million on Republicans getting law passed to limit competition so they can make huge profits until someone stops them.
Abingdon Residence- That is ggod info and I will be contacting my elected officials again on this matter. It is my sincere hope that 1000’s of other will do the same. If that does not work we should organize and take to the streets in a peaceful demonstration on the utilities as well as the elected officials who seem lately to only care how much they can spend and how to get it out of our pockets. Thanks
On the Tennessee side, I have also written to Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Bob Corker, and Congressman Phil Roe. I even wrote a letter to David Davis who is no longer accepting email comments. Not surprised, I haven’t received a response from anyone. I have called and visited EES, contacted the TVA, and I’m expressing my deep concern on every blog about the electric rate increases I can find. Someone tell me what else we CAN do?
I too have little choice at this time other than to pay the bill. I have children, we have to eat and stay warm. But I’m not sure how long I can stay afloat if we don’t get some relief.
I researched the increased proposed by AEP and wrote to The State Corporation Commission of VA since AEP did not disclose approval of their increase. This is the reply I received:
The State Corporation Commission issued an order on November 17 that reduced the company’s request by as much as state law would permit.
The company’s original request represented a 23.9 percent increase in annual operating revenue. After a thorough review of the request, APCo, the SCC staff, and several parties in the case reached an agreement to lower the request to an increase of 19.3 percent. The Commission accepted the agreement.
In its final order, the Commission said, “[W]hile we are cutting Appalachian’s rate increase substantially from its request, we understand that the rate increase approved will still represent a hardship on many of Appalachian’s residential and business customers. We find, however, that this rate increase is consistent with the facts and laws that govern this case.”
The SCC noted that a significant portion of the increase related to capital expenditures made to generation and distribution facilities needed to provide service to customers. The Commission wrote, “A large portion of this increase is attributable to environmental improvements made to the generation facilities to comply with federal laws and regulations. Additionally, Appalachian has made improvements to maintain the reliability of its distribution network in Virginia. These expenditures, plus associated operating costs and depreciation, have contributed to an upward pressure on rates.”
The SCC also mentioned in the order that in APCo’s prior base rate case, the company sought to recover in rates much of this investment by projecting capital expenditures, but the Commission denied recovery because the funds had not actually been expended. Since the company has now actually spent these amounts, state law provides for their recovery in rates.
State Corporation Commission
PO Box 1197
Richmond, VA 23218
(804) 371-9141 (phone)
I have sent emails to Senator Webb of VA and to Rick Boucher expressing my concern of not being able to pay for electricity. I told them they were elected to help the people not corporate executives and monopoly utilities. I also told them I knew my single email to them would go unnoticed, as it has so far. If all AEP residents would contact these elected officials and complain then they would have to do something.
I urge each AEP customer to contact their elected officials and let them know if they want to stay in office they are going to have to do something about this tremendous increase.
If you are not willing to do something, suck it up and keep silent!!
evaningstar- I am sure so far I have not changed anything but that is no reason to stop trying. I also have no desire to get in a blog fight with you so this will be my last post. i am sorry though that your belief is that to accept it is your only option. That does however prove my point. To many people in this country feel the only thing they can do is accept it. I will keep on trying. I wish you well.
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