FAIRMONT, W.Va., Dec. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), announced that the Public Service Commission of West Virginia has issued an order regarding the companies' adjustment of fuel and purchased power costs. The Commission's order approved a settlement agreement between the companies and the Consumer Advocate Division and Staff of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and the West Virginia Energy Users Group.

As a result of the order, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will increase about $3 a month to $99 starting January 1, 2012. However, even with the increase, rates for Mon Power and Potomac Edison residential customers are expected to remain about 18 percent below the national average.

Under a cost recovery clause established by the Commission in 2007, Mon Power and Potomac Edison customer bills are adjusted periodically to reflect upward or downward changes in the cost of fuel and purchased power. The companies' last request to recover costs for fuel and purchased power was in September 2009. 

In the approved settlement, the parties have agreed that the utilities will recover in 2012 an additional $19.6 million or an approximate 1.7 percent overall increase, primarily reflecting rising coal prices over the past two years, with certain additional amounts to be recovered in future years. For Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers, coal prices represent the single largest component of the cost to produce electricity.

The Commission also issued an order approving two energy efficiency and conservation programs that will achieve 0.5 percent energy and demand savings for Mon Power and Potomac Edison over five years. The programs include a low-income residential efficiency program and incentives for commercial, government and industrial customers to install high efficiency lighting. The order directs the companies to file within five business days revised rates designed to recover $1.7 million of the program costs during 2012.

The increases are partly offset by $2.5 million of synergy savings directly resulting from the merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, which closed in February 2011.

To help customers manage their bills, Mon Power and Potomac Edison offer budget plans, special payment plans, and access to energy assistance programs. For home energy efficiency tips, customers can check FirstEnergy's internet site at www.firstenergycorp.com or call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-255-3443 to request information.

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies comprise the nation's largest investor-owned electric system. Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed baseload coal, natural gas, and pumped-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generating capacity of nearly 23,000 megawatts.