The electric bill, and who decides it

Where the money in a bill goes

APCo lists the typical 1,000-kWh residential bill at $169.85 before taxes, and $339.70 at 2,000 kWh[150]. Broken out line by line, the fixed $7.96 customer charge plus the generation and distribution charges, minus a securitization credit, come to about $69, roughly 41% of the bill. Transmission alone is $38.04, about 22%. Fuel is $31.33. The rest is more than a dozen smaller riders: environmental compliance, renewable-energy requirements, energy efficiency, a $1.32 universal service fee that funds the low-income payment program, and a $2.11 broadband capacity charge[154]. That broadband rider was first approved in 2021 to pay for APCo's middle-mile fiber pilot in Grayson County[163]; this briefing found no Buchanan project paid for by it. Fuel was the one big line that fell recently: APCo cut it from 4.139 to 3.133 cents per kWh on Nov. 1, 2025, saving about $10 a month at 1,000 kWh[155].

The long climb. The SCC's own report put the same 1,000-kWh bill at $66.61 in July 2007 and $109.03 in July 2020[156]. A 2025 report from Clean Virginia, an advocacy group that favors renewable energy, found APCo's residential rates up 158% since 2007, more than three times inflation, against 28% for the state's electric co-ops, and blamed a heavy reliance on coal and gas plus a growing share of costs passed through riders[157]. Keep the source's point of view in mind, but the SCC's figures alone show the bill more than doubling.

The rate case decided by Jan. 15

In May, APCo asked for $61 million more a year, which would have raised the typical bill $9.10 a month starting March 2027[151]. On Oct. 14, APCo, the SCC's staff and other parties, including Google and data-center developer STACK Infrastructure, filed a settlement instead[152]. Under it, typical household bills don't change from March 2027 through February 2028, then rise about 92 cents a month; the fixed customer charge stays at $7.96 instead of going to $9; and APCo's allowed return on equity, the profit regulators let it aim for, goes from 9.75% to 9.8%, not the 10.5% it asked for. APCo says it actually earned 4.655% in 2024 and 2025[151]. At the public hearing, Del. Sam Rasoul was the only person who spoke, and the more than 50 written comments filed were overwhelmingly against any increase[151].

The catch is the riders. Part of how the base rate stays flat is by moving costs, including tree trimming along power lines, out of base rates and into separate future charges APCo will ask for later. Will Reisinger of the Virginia Poverty Law Center pointed out that riders still land on customers' bills. A separate pending case would add $3.99 a month starting March 1 for renewable-energy costs required by the Virginia Clean Economy Act[151][153]. Still open: seasonal and alternative billing options, and whether to cut reconnection fees for customers whose power was shut off. Briefs are due Nov. 24, the SCC must rule by Jan. 15, and nothing can take effect before March 1[151].

The data-center line. The settlement commits APCo to seek a new rate class for customers needing 100 megawatts or more, which in practice means mostly data centers, so their grid costs aren't spread onto households. Dominion's version, for customers of 25 MW and up, starts Jan. 1, 2027[151]. That matters here because of the data-center talk around the Twin Valley fuel cell project covered in the first edition.

What Richmond already did. The 2025 APCo Rate Reduction Act, passed unanimously and championed by Southwest Virginia legislators, allowed cheaper refinancing of some costs, banned APCo rate increases in winter, paused late fees and disconnect fees for a time, and ordered the fuel cut and the seasonal-rate proposals now being argued. Del. Jason Ballard (R-Giles) said at the time, "I have constituents who pay over $1,000 a month for their power." The average bill had risen about $50 in three years by then[158].

The wires around Big Rock and Vansant

Levisa substation. APCo is building a new substation on the former American Legion Post 164 property off Riverside Drive, plus about two miles of 69-kilovolt line west of Vansant, to replace the Dismal River substation, which flooded in 2022 and caused outages. The area has run on a temporary substation since. Construction began in September 2025 and service is planned for March 2028[160].

Conaway project, paused. This one is closest to Big Rock. It would build about six miles of new 69-kV line and a new Conaway substation, upgrade Looney Creek, and retire roughly six miles of old 34.5-kV line along with the Big Rock and Thomas substations. It was due to start in fall 2027, but in September 2026 APCo said it is re-evaluating the schedule and aims to restart work in 2029[159]. So the older equipment serving the Big Rock area stays in place for at least a few more years.

Two more. APCo planned to start rebuilding about 11 miles of 138-kV line between the Sourwood substation in McDowell County, W.Va., and Hales Branch in Buchanan this fall[161]. And in September supervisors held a hearing on letting APCo park a temporary mobile substation on county land to keep the Hurley substation powered, for three months with a possible three-month extension[162].