American Electric Power (AEP), a major utility company, is allegedly resorting to price gouging, charging exorbitant rates that greatly exceed the fair market price. This not only places an enormous financial burden on individuals, and families, but also adversely impacts small businesses that heavily rely on electricity for operations. This has come in the last month for many of our residents in Elkview, West Virginia. 
This is something they do every year at the same time, no matter the weather during these months. 

CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
§24-2-18. Legislative findings on electric service; jurisdictionof the commission to determine public interest inpermitting retail access to competitive power supply markets; participation of interested parties; development of deregulation plan; legislative approval or rejection of plan; certain reports required or permitted; continuing jurisdiction.
  
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that:

(1) Electric service is essential to the health and well-being of residents, to public safety and to orderly economic development, and the cost of electricity is an important factor in decisions made by businesses concerning locating, expanding and retaining facilities in West Virginia. Therefore, reliable electric service should continue to be available to all customers at reasonable rates and on reasonable terms and conditions;

(2) Many state governments have been studying policies that would create a competitive market for the supply of electricity;

(3) The Public Service Commission is the appropriate agency to determine whether West Virginia should adopt a plan whereby users of electricity in the state would have open access across existing and new utility delivery systems to a competitive market for power supply. An affirmative determination of this question is hereafter designated in this section as a "finding of public interest." If the commission makes a finding of public interest, the commission is also the appropriate agency to develop such a plan for submission to the Legislature for approval, hereafter designated in this section as a "deregulation plan.”