Utility seeks 24% electric rate increase

Southwestern Electric Power Co., which provides electricity for 119,000 customers in western Arkansas, is seeking a 24 percent increase in its base rates, the utility said Thursday in a filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

That means that a customer with a $100 monthly bill would have a bill of $124 if the commission were to approve the full amount.

SWEPCO is asking the commission for a $45.6 million rate increase, which does not include the cost of fuel that is passed through to customers with no profit to the company.

The commission is required to rule on a rate request within 10 months, said Donna Gray, a spokesman for the commission. So a hearing on SWEPCO’s request could be held in October.

The new rates, if approved, would go into effect for the first billing cycle in January.

It has been 10 years since SWEPCO’s last general rate increase, Malcolm Smoak, SWEPCO’s president and chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement.

“We recognize that this increase will impact individuals, families and businesses,” Smoak said. “At the same time, we have made significant investments in generation, transmission and distribution facilities since our last Arkansas general rate case in 2009.”

SWEPCO is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.