Fact Checker

If you believe a new TV ad circulating in Roanoke and Bristol last week, Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert F. McDonnell supported $180 million in electric power rate increases when he was attorney general.

On Thursday, Democratic candidate R. Creigh Deeds launched the ad, which questions McDonnell's support for Appalachian Power's rate increases between 2006 and last year. In Virginia, rate increases are approved by a three-judge panel at the State Corporation Commission, a regulatory body that oversees utilities and other companies. Virginia's attorney general is obligated by statute to represent consumers in such cases. State law allows utility companies, as a regulated monopoly, to recover reasonable costs for providing service, as well as profits.

"Various parties are typically involved in the process, and the companies also ask for more than they end up getting approved," said Ken Schrad, an SCC spokesman. Although it's true that McDonnell's office recommended rate increases, the recommendations from the attorney general's Office of Consumer Counsel were more in line with the SCC's final rulings than with Appalachian's original, more costly requests.

In the 2007 case, for example, Appalachian asked for a 25.4 percent rate increase, a net rise of $198.5 million. Using outside experts, the attorney general's office recommended a net increase of $29.8 million. The SCC granted a $24 million increase. Appalachian was more successful last year, when the company requested $207.9 million and was awarded $167.9 million, a 19.3 percent base rate increase. In that case, the attorney general's office recommended a $133 million increase.