| RICHMOND – On March 24, 2025, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Delegate Jason Ballard’s (R-Giles) HB 2621 into law. HB 2621, known as the “APCo Rate Reduction Act,” passed on a vote of 98-0 in the House of Delegates and 39-0 in the Senate of Virginia. It will become effective on July 1, 2025.
Said Del. Ballard, “I am incredibly pleased to see this legislation be signed into law. Even after HB 2621’s passage from the General Assembly, constituents concerned about their electric bills have continued to contact me to inquire of the bill’s status. Now, I can finally report that meaningful rate relief is on the way.”
The APCo Rate Reduction Act includes several mechanisms that will provide APCo customers support. First, HB 2621 allows for securitization, which will provide relief on each customer’s monthly bill. There is a six-month moratorium on interest and late fees, as well as a nine-month moratorium on disconnect and reconnect fees, which will assist those among us who have the least means to pay. Importantly, there will be no increase in electric rates during the winter months (November through February). Similarly, APCo must propose seasonal rates which are meant to minimize the impact of cold winter months and high electricity usage. APCo must propose alternatives to current billing practices, which are designed to lessen the burden of high monthly bills during peak seasons. The utility must file for a reduction in fuel costs, which saves customers money on monthly bills. And finally, HB 2621 directs the State Corporation Commission to consider public input and comments during all rate cases.
Ballard concluded, “HB 2621 was the only bill in the 2025 General Assembly Legislative Session that addressed some of the root causes of high APCo rates. Passage of this legislation was the culmination of much hard work, and I thank all who provided their support to ensure that APCo customers are provided needed relief on their electric bills.” |
March 25, 2025 @ 12:38 pm
no reduction is going to be enough,, since the bills have sky rocketed.. and why did it take so long for this to come about? bills have been going up for over a year.. but anything will help..
March 26, 2025 @ 7:12 am
Good step but then it about time Youngkin did something for Virginians instead of Trump. That seems to be his sole purpose in life, like the rest of the GOP. HORRIBLE governor.
March 26, 2025 @ 7:30 am
Costs skyrocketed during the Biden administration, and not just here in SW VA. Coal, Petrol, and Gas are the most reasonable sources of power for us at the moment given all the opinions. You want power? Burn these…efficiently as possible. Nuclear is by far the best but try getting a new nuke plant built. Solar and Wind are reliant upon petrol in every way, they are alternative forms not clean forms just ask anyone who deals with the scrap from turbine blades, housing lubricant, or solar panels. Even with Trump in office (and I have yet to see more reasonable gas prices as he has claimed) this is a free market issue, demand and supply. We all want our heat, want our phones and power hungry devices charged now…pay the price. Devices such as TVs may be more power efficient than they were 20 years ago, but there’s one in every room now, there’s no real reduction if anything it’s the opposite. If you ran the business who’s job it was to make power, you wouldn’t and couldn’t run it at a loss. If your biggest complaint is the cost of winter fuel, install a wood stove and use the fuel nature gives us year after year. It’ll be so warm in your whole house you will have the windows open in January. Want the costs to come down, stop using so much of the product.
March 26, 2025 @ 4:14 pm
Angelo has foxspeak written all over his comments
March 26, 2025 @ 6:27 pm
They didn’t address the main problem of the price of electricity — GREED!
March 27, 2025 @ 12:29 am
Just happy the legislature and the governor are doing something. We heat with wood and our monthlys are always higher in the winter. I knew they were taking advantage!