Coalfield families already skipping meals face a 23% electric hike, a year after an 11% increase

Families in Virginia's coalfields who already skip meals to keep the lights on are facing a 23% electric rate hike. If regulators approve it, Old Dominion Power's base rate increase would add about $43 to the average monthly bill starting as soon as Feb. 1, according to Cardinal News. The utility raised rates 11.2% just last year.

The utility, a subsidiary of Kentucky Utilities, serves more than 28,000 Virginia customers in Dickenson, Wise, Russell, Lee and Scott counties. The State Corporation Commission will hear the request on Nov. 12 and is taking public comments only through Thursday.

Bills that already break budgets

Cardinal News reported that Sherry Parsons, a 64-year-old school cook in St. Charles in Lee County, already moves through her house by nightlight and keeps her refrigerator on a low setting. Her winter bill can still reach $300. "I don't know what else to do," she told the outlet. Her neighbor, teacher's aide Athina Witt, paid $465 in September and expects winter bills near $600. "It's either you pay your electric bill, or ..." Parsons said. "You don't eat or get medicine," Witt finished.

Last year's 11.2% increase added $17.63 a month to the average residential bill, Cardinal News reported. Together, the two requests would mean roughly $60 more a month in two years for an average household in one of Virginia's poorest regions. In Lee County, 28% of residents live below the federal poverty level and the median household income is under $42,000.

Taxpayers pay too

The hike would also land on local taxpayers. Lee County Public Schools Superintendent Brian Dean said all but one of the county's schools buy power from Old Dominion. He estimated the increase would add about $115,000 a year to the division's roughly $500,000 utility budget. "Every additional dollar we spend keeping the lights on and our buildings operating is a dollar we cannot invest in our teachers, our classrooms and, ultimately, our students," Dean wrote to Cardinal News.

Around 200 public comments opposing the increase had been filed, the outlet reported. Wise County resident Aaron Wiggins pointed regulators to "a decline in jobs, higher taxes, inflation, hurricane recovery and the decline of the coal industry" and asked for "at the least a reduction in the proposed increase."

What the utility says

Old Dominion Power says the money is needed for "continuous significant investments in its facilities," including work to "defend against stronger, more frequent storms," and to meet "applicable environmental regulations," according to Cardinal News. The company also highlighted a new online portal offering budget payment plans.

Ratepayers may reasonably ask regulators how much of the request is driven by environmental mandates and how much by storm hardening. They may also ask whether a second double-digit increase in two years is the lowest reasonable cost for a region that is still recovering from the loss of coal jobs.

Make your voice heard

Written comments are due Thursday. Anyone who wants to testify at the Nov. 12 hearing, in Richmond or remotely, must sign up before Thursday through the State Corporation Commission.

Lee County is a county in Southwest Virginia. Its county seat is Jonesville.