Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 28, 1990 TAG: 9004280051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Apco had asked that the increase - amounting to $5.60 a month for the average residential customer - be effective April 30.
Under SCC procedure, the general rate increase has been suspended for five months and the utility will be allowed to raise its rates on an interim basis by Sept. 1, said Ken Schrad of the SCC in Richmond. The higher rates will be subject to refund if they are not approved by the state agency.
The SCC will schedule a hearing on the request.
Dick Burton, Apco public affairs director, said the SCC suspension was "not unexpected." He said he does not expect any opposition to the increase "because it is a reasonable request."
After the increase, Burton said, Apco customers will still be paying a lower rate than the national average.
The Virginia Committee for Fair Utility Rates, a group of large industrial users, and the Consumer Counsel Division of the attorney general's office have filed as intervenors in the Apco rate case.
If the Apco increase is granted, the company said it will bring $43.3 million in new annual revenue. The average residential power bill would go up to $60.73 a month.
This request is Apco's first filing for a higher base rate in four years and the largest increase asked in 12 years.
When the company filed the request, Joseph Vipperman, Apco president, said the Consumer Price Index has risen 17 percent since the utility made its last general filing. That request for a 4.3-percent rate increase was whittled down to 2.7 percent by the SCC.
Virginia Power, based in Richmond, also filed a month ago for an increase but that utility wants an expedited case, which would allow it to collect a higher rate, under bond, next week.
Virginia Power told the SCC it needs a rate increase as promptly as possible because of its declining financial condition.
by CNB