Battle brewing over AEP rate hike - Business First of Columbus:

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Parts of the PUCO ruling did not sit wellwith AEP. A statementy on the company’s Web site said the commission’s decisioj to moderate the impact of rate increaseas on consumers means theruling “does not provide the cash flow necessarh to deal with the significant increases related to fuel and environmentalo costs as we incur them.” that money will need to be collecter over an extended period, the company “The fact our rates will be so much lower than what our detailefd analysis shows is necessary to fund operations is of particulatr concern,” the statement said.
Still, AEP was encouragex the PUCO ruling supports its proposed vegetation management andgridSmaryt programs. “It has its pros and cons,” AEP-Ohilo spokeswoman Terri Flora said ofthe PUCO’s “We need to work with the commission to see wherer they are coming from.” The company’s optionsa at this point, she said, are to accepgt the commission’s decision, appeal it through file another electric service plan or pursue a marketf rate option allowed under a comprehensive energy law passesd by the General Assembly last year. The law providese for a system in which rates are set by the PUCO through electric service plans like the one filedsby AEP.
It also outline a path for electric utilities topursue market-based