(The Center Square) – Old Dominion Power customers in Southwest Virginia could pay about $43 more a month if state regulators approve the utility’s rate request.

That estimate is based on how much electricity the company expects the average household to use.

The utility asked the State Corporation Commission in a Thursday hearing to let it collect nearly $19 million more a year through higher base rates.

Commission staff witness Jean-Pierre Labarca recommended an annual increase of about $12 million in supplemental testimony. The attorney general’s Division of Consumer Counsel urged regulators to approve no more than that.

Company witness Andrea Fackler said a household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would pay $36.66 more under the utility’s proposal. At the company’s projected average of 1,198 kilowatt-hours a month, the increase would be $43.32.

Carew Bartley, speaking for Consumer Counsel, said the commission staff proposal would still add more than $23 a month for a household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours.

Bartley said customers who heat their homes with electricity could experience a bigger increase in winter. The company’s filing shows a $53.49 increase for a household using 1,500 kilowatt-hours in a month.

When asked whether the proposed bill increases were reasonable, Robert Conroy, the utility’s vice president of regulatory affairs, acknowledged they were significant. He said the company needed higher rates to keep service safe and reliable, citing investments in power generation and the cost of maintaining the lines that deliver electricity.

The utility also wants to raise the fixed charge on residential bills from $12 to $15 a month. Customers pay that charge regardless of how much electricity they use.

Austin Skeens, speaking for commission staff, said staff witness Mark Tafaro recommended keeping the charge at $12 because the proposed increase did not appear to be supported by the utility’s costs. Bartley said Consumer Counsel agreed with keeping it at $12.

About $3.2 million of the gap between the utility’s request and staff’s recommendation comes down to the return the company would be allowed to earn on shareholder investment, Labarca said. The company is asking for 10.95%, and staff recommends 9.8%.

The utility and commission staff also disagree over whether Old Dominion Power should recover about $2.23 million in Hurricane Helene restoration costs through future rates. Helene brought heavy rain and flooding to Southwest Virginia in September 2024. Lee, Scott and Wise counties, where the utility serves customers, were among those designated for federal disaster aid.

The utility says its 2025 base rates did not include those restoration costs. Labarca said staff did not dispute that the costs were prudent. He said the company earned enough in 2025 to cover them, and staff recommends leaving the full amount out of future rates.

Bartley also questioned whether spending more on tree trimming and burying power lines would improve reliability enough to justify the cost.

Company witness Adam Smith said the plan includes burying lines on the 100 circuits the utility ranked highest for that work. He said the utility has a plan for the additional tree work and wants the flexibility to shift spending where it would benefit customers most.

Old Dominion Power is the name Kentucky Utilities uses in Virginia. It serves customers in Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott and Wise counties.