by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), a utility of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP), announced Friday (July 23) it will seek an $85 million request to increase customer rates. If approved, residential customers consuming 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would see a more than $11 monthly bill increase.

SWEPCO has submitted the request to the Arkansas Public Service Commission. According to a news release, the company looks to recover environmental and resiliency costs related to providing customers with cleaner and more reliable energy.

The $85 million request also includes recent investments in transmission and distribution facilities and reflects costs to operate and maintain equipment that delivers power to customers. It also establishes new tariffs for electric vehicles and lighting.