SWEPCO Rates Going Up

COLUMBUS, Ohio � Southwestern Electric Power Company, or SWEPCO, customers will be seeing a rate increase soon. The company served numerous customers in Northeast Texas. Referencing a SWEPCO news release, KETK reports the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has approved a base rate increase for the company. In Texas, the bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) will increase approximately $7.00 per month, or 8.9%. The PUCT approved this increase in base rates to recover costs associated with two major power plants and for vegetation management to maintain and ensure reliability.

The changes will begin with December 2013 customer bills, with the increase retroactive to January 29, 2013, which is pursuant to an agreement between the PUCT and SWEPCO in order to allow the Commission and other participating parties more time to review the case. SWEPCO filed the rate increase request in July 2012.

According to the news release, SWEPCO completed construction of the 500-megawatt J. Lamar Stall Unit, a natural gas-fueled combined-cycle power plant in Shreveport, La., in 2010. Additionally, the 600-megawatt (SWEPCO owns 440 MW) John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant, a coal-fueled ultra-supercritical power plant in Hempstead County of Southwest Arkansas, was completed in December 2012. These units are among the first built by SWEPCO in more than 25 years. �Even with this rate increase, SWEPCO residential rates continue to be among the lowest in Texas, and compare favorably to national averages,� said Venita McCellon-Allen, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer.