For Appalachian Power Company, the first rule is “if at first you don’t succeed in ripping off our customers, try again.”

The profit-laden utility that holds Southwestern Virginia in a monopoly headlock is appealing the denial of a rate increase by Virginia’s State Corporation Commission because they had close to $2 million in excess earnings in the three years that ended on Dec. 31, 2019.

Obvious, a couple of millions is nowhere as much profit as the company desires, not with all those executive salary increases and bonuses they like to dole out.

The SCC found APCo’s accounting stunt of trying to write off the closing of coal plants in 2015 was too much smoke and mirrors and called the stunt “unconscionable.”

For those of us who have to struggle to come up with what our current electric bills demand, the proposed rate hike that would also double the initial assessment on our bills brought words that are not fit to print here.

Noted the SCC:

The commission recognizes that the public interest is not well served if a utility is permitted to charge its customers more than necessary to earn a reasonable return.”

APCo filing for an appeal before the Virginia Supreme Court did not include any special founds for the appeal, saying it must first “full review” the 38-page ruling by the SCC’s denial.

Translation: The utility has not yet found something that might justify the ruling, but it will appeal anyway. After all, the financial security of their customers does not matter.