The State Corporation Commission has signed off on a request from Dominion Virginia Power to lower the fuel rate it charges customers, a move that should result in a typical residential customer saving $6.47 per month.
The utility charges a fuel rate to pay for the cost of fuel used to generate electricity. State law allows it to recover fuel costs, however it is not allowed to make a profit on it. The new rate of 2.406 cents per kilowatt-hour goes into effect April 1.
Dominion announced earlier this month it was seeking the rate change. The change is due in large part to a new law signed into effect last month that freezes Dominion’s electric rates but allows for adjustments to fuel costs, according to a Dominion news release.
Robert M. Blue, the utility’s president, called the new law “good news for family budgets and Virginia businesses” in the news release.
The change lowers the average residential customer’s bill from $115.95 to $109.55 per month, good for a 5 percent decrease. Commercial and industrial customers can expect savings of 7 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
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