Alabama Power customers are getting a refund this summer. Al.com reports the Alabama Public Service Commission approved the refund to be paid to eligible customers in August. The decision came after the company reported it was above the allowed rate of return range by about $62 million in 2022. There's no word yet on how much customers will receive as part of that refund. The average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month is paying about $24 more since January 2022.
Published reports quote a PSC statement as saying, “…APSC Commissioners voted to approve the refunds be returned directly to customers on their August 2023 billings, when customer usage is generally higher due to hot summer weather. As such, the refund will be more impactful to residential customers because they have higher usage at this time of year.”
On the subject of the amount of each refund, the PSC is quoted as saying, “Due to the commissioner's approval to direct the customer refunds in a motion from the bench today, the refund amounts are being calculated in accordance with this motion. The amounts may not be available for several days.”
In December, Alabama Power announced its third rate increase of 2022, citing federal mandates, inflation and economic conditions. That means the average residential customer, using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, is paying about $24 for electricity since January 2022.