APCo Sends Out About 100,000 Estimated Bills - FOX 21/27 WFXR Roanoke/WWCW Lynchburg News, Weather

APCo Sends Out About 100,000 Estimated Bills

Appalachian Power says it was forced to estimate around one-fifth of its Virginia customers bills this month due to the June 29 wind storm.

Appalachian Power has approximately 500,000 Virginia customers, meaning around 100,000 customers received, or will receive, estimated bills.

APCo spokesman Todd Burns said employees who would normally have been out reading meters during the first week of July were assigned to the massive restoration efforts.

More than half of APCo's Virginia customers experienced a power outage following the wind storm, some for more than one week.

"If the meter's not spinning, then you won't be billed for it," Burns said, addressing some customers' concerns that the estimated bills seemed higher than normal for this time of year.

Burns explained the company estimated customers' usage using data from the same time frame from previous years.

While APCo is expected to ask the Virginia State Corporation Commission for a rate increase to recover costs from the storm, Burns said losses incurred from not having hundreds of thousands of meters running could not be a part of any rate hike request.

"It doesn't work that way for us," Burns said.

Burns said customers whose usage is overestimated will receive a form of credit on their August bills.

And vice versa, he confirmed that customers whose power was not impacted by the wind storm who had estimated bills might have to pay a little more next month.