Ohio Supreme Court approves Dominion Energy's rate increase to cover past infrastructure costs
![Image](https://WFMJ.images.worldnow.com/images/25103418_G.jpeg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&height=560&fit=bounds&lastEditedDate=1693978174000)
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Dominion Energy raising customer rates to pay for infrastructure improvements.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that a portion of a PUCO order allowing the energy company to collect $73 million for its Northeast Ohio customers to pay for capital improvements to its natural gas distribution infrastructure is not unreasonable or unlawful.
The Supreme Court ultimately rejected arguments posed by the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio had approved an excessive rate increase.
The Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council argued that PUCO allowed Dominion to base its rate request on calculations used in its last full rate case in 2008, rather than current market conditions.
The Court reviewed several provisions of regulatory law governing the submission of alternative rate plans and found nothing requires the use of current market conditions to determine a suitable rate.
Justice Melody Stewart stated the Court found nothing in state law provided a basis on which to conclude that the settlement approved by the PUCO was unreasonable or unlawful, as the consumer advocates argued.