Dominion Power Customers May See Cheaper Bills This Fall

Dominion Power has asked the state regulators for a combination of fee increases and decreases that could lower the average household electricity bill  to an estimated $105.90 in September.

The State Corporation Commission must rule on the reduced fuel rate. The savings are based on a monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours, The Virginian Pilot reported.

A warm winter meant less need for natural gas, one of the primary fuels for Dominion's power plants. The new Bear Garden Power Station, in Buckingham County, is a more efficient natural gas-fired plant that began operation last summer, the Pilot reported.

In a Dominion Power statement, Dominion is crediting the anticipated reductions to efficiencies found through "lower-than-expected prices for fuel used to generate electricity, abnormally mild weather and the performance of new generating units."

But other rate increases requested by Dominion Power would offset more than half the $8.50 in savings from the fuel and transmission reductions, The Pilot said.

Dominion Power spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson said the SCC typically sets a date in late June for a public hearing and then makes a decision.

Virginia regulators approved a small rate increase for Dominion Power in late April. Another increase will occur Aug. 1 with the expiration of a credit that Dominion has applied to customers' bills since February to address the commission's finding that it earned more than its authorized profit in 2009 and 2010, The Pilot said.

The average savings to the average household may be less than $5 a month.