SWEPCO wants a rate increase

This is pretty bad timing to say the least, but it looks like insult is being added to injury this week because AEP SWEPCO is proposing a base rate increase of 18 to 22 percent by the end of the year.

After spending a week without any power at all, I would’ve paid a lot more than 22 percent to get it turned back on but over time, finding that extra cash could be tough. If my $65 per month electric bill ends up in the $75 to $80 range, I’d be looking at a possible $180 increase per year.

It’s a certainty that rates must increase over time but it sure doesn’t feel good to hear news like this right in the middle of a recession. And yesterday’s Walmart news doesn’t help one bit.

To some, a rate increase doesn’t mean a whole lot. Others, however, will have to find that money elsewhere which means cutting back in other areas. Which, of course, means less spending. Which, in turn, means … well you know what that means.

Apparently, SWEPCO customers were supposed to be informed of the potential increase via a flier before reading about it in the newspapers and on those crazy blog thingies but like Richard Drake, I too have yet to see any such flier. What about you?

[More at Morning News, NWA Times, Street Jazz]