Press Mention Carolina News & Reporter November 30, 2022
SACE Referenced
Dominion's rates may increase after Tuesday's hearing, and then again in the spring
In this mention
Dominion Energy customers may face rate increases twice in the coming year—once in January 2023 following a mid-period fuel adjustment hearing, and potentially again in spring during annual hearings. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and S.C. Coastal Conservation League testified at Tuesday's hearing, with expert Ronald Binz arguing that the current fuel cost adjustment mechanism unfairly shifts risk onto consumers.
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Dominion's rates may increase after Tuesday's hearing, and then again in the spring
By Bee Brawley | Dec 1, 2022
Dominion customers may see a price increase twice in the coming year. (Photo illustration by Bee Brawley)
Dominion Energy's rates may increase at the start of 2023 but they could also go up again in the summer, some experts say.
Dominion filed for a mid-period rate increase in August, hoping the new rates could go into effect in November. But it wasn't until Tuesday that the utility got a hearing before state regulators to ask for the higher rates to cover a recent rise in fuel prices, according to Nanette Edwards, the executive director for the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff.
Typically, fuel hearings are annual and happen in the spring, but Tuesday's hearing was unique, Edwards said.
"There has been a lot of volatility in the commodity marketplace," she said. "You've seen that as consumers."
Speaking for consumers Tuesday were two groups that are primarily environmental organizations, the S.C. Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Some say Dominion's additional effort to increase rates puts a heavy burden on customers. Speaking on behalf of the organizations, industry expert Ronald Binz testified that the current mechanism for fuel cost adjustments unfairly shifts the risk of fuel cost increases onto customers.
Binz recommended Dominion share some of the risk to ensure the utility is aligned with customer interest.
But as of right now, the cost of fuel price increases may still fall to consumers.
Those at the hearing agreed that the rate increase should be much lower, Edwards said.
"The company is looking to make it effective the first billing cycle in January 2023," Edwards said.
But the company could come back again and ask for another increase in the spring, during the annual hearings, she said.
The proposed rates would increase the average customer's monthly bill for using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by almost $8.
That's a 5.8% increase, said Rhonda O'Banion, director of media relations at Dominion Energy.
The Public Service Commission has not yet identified a deadline for making a decision, Edwards said.