AEP Aims To Charge For Wind Storm Damage

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When Hurricane Ike tore through Central Ohio in September, nearly every resident paid a price. Now, residents could pay even more.

Consumer advocates have been questioning the practices of power companies, asking if those practices were to blame for extended blackouts.

The pushback comes at a time when companies like American Electric Power want to raise rates and charge fees for storm repairs.

A meeting has been scheduled for Friday and the eventual outcome could impact everyone, NBC 4's Ana Jackson reported.

By law, AEP has the right to recover storm damage costs, but the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio still has to approve it and until then, the consumer's council is fighting it.

AEP estimates the costs to repair windstorm damage will total about $30 million and the bill is being passed on to customers.

"Like any business affected by a major storm, those costs are above and beyond what we normally have in the rate structure," said Terri Flora, of AEP.

The recovery charge will be spread out over 12 months, and AEP expects the increase to be about $1 per bill.

But the Ohio Consumer's Council argues that in a time when AEP is asking to raise rates by more than 45 percent, $1 is too much.

"Whatever that cost is, that has to be justified and they haven't justified and they haven't yet justified those costs," said Janine Migden-Ostrander, of OCC.

AEP said it is asking the PUCO to defer the costs.

"We recognize now isn't -- including the rate filing with the commission -- now really isn't the best time to ask for more money," Flora said.

But AEP will also ask for an interest charge passed on to customers.

OCC estimates that increase will be about 8 percent.

"When they ask to defer costs and tack it onto higher interest rates than we think are justified in today's market, that's a concern for the customer," Migden-Ostrander said.

OCC said it still believes unreliable daily service is in part to blame for the storm damage.

"Had they done more in preventative maintenance we would have had less of an expense later on," Migden-Ostrander said.

"Quite frankly, you can't put the two events together. No system in Ohio AEP or other utilities are build to withstand hurricane force winds," Flora said.

AEP said PUCO will decide whether to defer costs in Friday's meeting. PUCO has not yet decided if it will investigate the OCC's concerns of unreliable service that were filed on Monday.

NBC 4 also spoke with several AEP customers regarding the proposed rate increase and fees.

"If the rates are going up by 45 percent, I don't think that's justified. It seems like they would be able to pay for it with the rate increase," said Dan Walker, a customer.

"I just think it's another cost added onto everything else these days. I don't (agree with it)," said Marsha Ravely, a customer.

Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail us at stories@nbc4i.com.
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News

NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video