After two years of defending a controversial law that froze base rates for Virginia’s two largest electric utilities as a hedge against carbon regulation, Dominion Energy officials said Monday that it’s “time to transition away” from the 2015 rate freeze, which also prevented state regulators from ordering refunds to customers.
The State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, has found that the 2015 law has allowed Dominion and Appalachian Power to pocket millions that they would have otherwise had to return to ratepayers.
In September, the SCC said Dominion, which serves 67 percent of the state’s electric customers, would owe ratepayers between $133 million and nearly $176 million for 2015 and 2016 if rate reviews were in place.
