If you had the television on recently it was hard to miss all of those political advertisements. The election may be over, but the power company isn't forgetting the ads that slammed electric rates. Now Appalachian Power is taking to the airwaves with its own advertisements.
Appalachian Power says its ads are meant to correct distortions about the company in political ads. “We weren’t on the ballot, but we were dragged into the campaign,” said Charles Patton, Appalachian Power president and Chief Operating Officer.
It was Democratic Delegate Ward Armstrong's campaign that focused on rising electricity rates and his work to fight the power company. Armstrong lost the race to Republican Delegate Charles Poindexter. It was a tight race that pit two incumbents against one another after redistricting changed Virginia's political map. It was also a race that set new records in campaign spending for a Virginia House of Delegates seat.
Appalachian Power's new advertisements are meant to clear up what it calls factually inaccurate ads, according to Patton. "Our biggest concern is that the political ads gave a false impression about why electricity costs more today than it once did," Patton said.
The power company blames federal regulations and the price of coal as the drivers behind higher electric bills.
The Appalachian Power ad can be viewed here.
