Published: August 19, 2007 12:16 am      

Most Allegheny Power customers decide to remain in rate plan

CUMBERLAND — More than 96 percent of Allegheny Power customers in Maryland have chosen to remain in the company’s rate stabilization and transition plan.

A report from the power company to the Maryland Public Service Commission Aug. 10 showed more than 208,000 of its 216,000 customers are participating in the plan, which is designed to help alleviate an anticipated rate shock when the company begins purchasing electricity at the market price Jan. 1, 2009.

“This is still a very high percentage,” said Allen Staggers, manager of corporate communications. “We’re confident the plan will achieve its desired results.”

The new plan went into effect June 7, following an order by the PSC for Allegheny Power to devise a plan that would gradually introduce higher utility rates to customers. Electricity has been deregulated in Maryland since 2001, and those caps are set to expire Dec. 31, 2008.

In an attempt to avoid the chaos Baltimore Gas & Electric experienced with a similar situation last year, Allegheny Power submitted an initial plan that would begin charging customers a 15 percent surcharge, with that surcharge then stored in an account and later issued as a credit when the caps expire.

Public outcry of the mandatory program sent the company back to the drawing board earlier this year, at which time the company developed a voluntary “opt-out” component to their plan.

The quarterly report, which highlighted second-quarter figures, showed 7,398 customers have opted out of the plan.

“Our feeling was when we first filed, we felt that by everybody being in the plan everybody benefited,” Staggers said. “But clearly we heard through the public hearing process that some people didn’t want to participate. They felt they could manage their bills and money better than we could.”

More than $667,000 had been billed in surcharge fees at the end of the company’s second quarter. Staggers said Allegheny Power remains confident customers will receive their full credit when electricity bills reflect the full market price beginning in 2009.

The next 15 percent increase will go into effect Jan. 1, 2008.

Tai Shadrick can be reached at tshadrick@times-news.com.