Residents urge council to act on soaring electric bills; staff links rise to wholesale market pressures
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Summary
Residents told Radford City Council that recent electric bills have reached hundreds of dollars for small households. City staff explained a wholesale power cost adjustment tied to higher market and capacity prices and said the city will model scenarios for the budget process.
Several residents told the Radford City Council on April 20 that recent electric bills are causing severe financial hardship.
"I just got an electric bill of $702," Melissa Mitchell said. "We have turned off our heat, our central air. I don't think it's fair..." Mitchell said she has limited income and is struggling to pay basic needs.
Other commenters described similar experiences, and speakers urged the council to review rate structures, net metering and whether large users receive discounts. David Cheeler asked whether the city will apply or expand an admission tax and whether Radford University should be charged for use of city-owned transformers.
City staff responded with a technical explanation of why bills have risen. Todd Meredith deferred to Tim from the electric department, who said Radford has bought wholesale power from Appalachian Power for about 20 years but that wholesale costs have roughly doubled from about 6¢/kWh to roughly 11–12¢/kWh. Tim said tight capacity in regional markets—partly driven by data centers in Northern Virginia—has pushed peak capacity prices higher and that Appalachian Power has been short on capacity at times.
Tim also noted that the electric department has contributed roughly $55 million to the general fund over the last 12 years through transfers and payments in lieu of taxes, so eliminating transfers would require offsetting revenue elsewhere.
On rooftop solar and billing, Tim said Radford's current billing system (Munisys) has limitations for complex net‑metering arrangements; while the city can apply certain offsets, full-year net metering would require billing changes. He said staff will convene billing and finance staff to evaluate options and bring proposals to council.
Mayor Horton and several council members said they heard the public's hardship and asked staff to model scenarios in upcoming budget sessions that compare changes to the electric transfer, water rates and property tax options so council can weigh trade-offs before finalizing the budget.
The council scheduled a public hearing and first reading of the budget for the next meeting and encouraged residents to participate.
