BY GREG EDWARDS

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Dominion Virginia Power this afternoon filed with state regulators to increase the portion of its rates that cover fuel costs, which could result in an 18.3 percent increase in a residential customer's monthly electric bill.

For the typical customer, using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, that's a monthly increase of $16.61.

The rate increase will cover the $1.1 billion in increased fuel costs that Dominion Virginia Power anticipates at its power plants for the 12 months beginning July 1.

To ease the impact of higher fuel costs, the utility said it is proposing to defer an additional $700 million in past fuel costs that are not covered by current rates. It wants to spread out the recovery of that expense in rates over a three-year period, beginning July 1, 2009, said Mark McGettrick, president and CEO of Dominion Generation, which operates the utilities power plants.

If the State Corporation Commission approves the increase, Dominion's fuel charge will rise from the current 2.23 cents per kilowatt hour to 3.893 cents per kwh on July 1. Without the deferral of past uncollected fuel costs, the fuel charge on the bill would have jumped to 4.245 cents per kwh.

Dave Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power, said the utility is taking a number of steps to help customers cope with the increased electric rates, including:

-- a larger contribution to Energy Share, a program that helps low-income customers pay their heating and cooling bills;

-- changes to make enrollment in the company's budget billing plan easier;

-- the opening of budget billing to small business, non-profit and house-of-worship customers.