Dominion Energy customers could see $15 increase in monthly bills
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians could see their electric bills go up just over a month from now.
Dominion Energy is asking state officials to approve its first rate hike in nearly four years – though it’s not as much of an increase as the company first proposed.
After what they described as extensive negotiations, Dominion Energy and other stakeholders came to an agreement late last week on the company’s proposed rate hike.
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On Monday – the South Carolina Public Service Commission heard testimony ahead of deciding whether it’ll accept this settlement agreement or not.
“Our goal is to provide reliability, security, and peace of mind to our customers, who depend upon us each and every second of their day,” said Keller Kissam, Dominion Energy’s South Carolina president.
If approved, the rate increase would go into effect Sept. 1, affecting Dominion Energy’s estimated three-quarters of a million customers in South Carolina.
Stakeholders say the monthly bill for a typical residential customer using a 1,000 kilowatt-hours would go up just over $15 a month.
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That’s less than Dominion’s initial proposal – which would’ve raised it nearly $19.
According to Dominion, that means the monthly electric bill for a typical residential customer under this agreement – would be around $148.
The settlement would also divvy up $7.5 million in one-time bill credits to residential and small business customers this year.
“The role of this whole process was to ferret out what proposed increases were not justified, and that did not belong to be put on the back of the ratepayer. We have done that, and we think we’ve done as best we can,” said Frank Knapp, president of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.
The Public Service Commission will ultimately decide whether to accept the proposal.
Testimony could continue Tuesday.
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