
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 3, 1992                   TAG: 9203030045
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HIGHER GAS RATE SOUGHT

Roanoke Gas Co. on Monday asked the State Corporation Commission for a 3.4 percent rate increase that would add $1.15 to the utility's average monthly residential bill.

The increase is expected to generate $1.34 million a year. It would apply to the bills of 40,000 homes and businesses in the Roanoke Valley, according to Frank Farmer, president of the utility.

The increase is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 1. Under SCC procedure, if the commission rejects the request or reduces the amount, the company is under bond and must refund the difference to customers.

The company's last rate increase was in August 1989. Since then, Farmer said, inflation has increased 10.7 percent. Roanoke Gas canceled a $1.2 million rate-increase request last June.

Farmer said last year's earnings were the worst in the utility's history because of unseasonably warm weather that reduced demand for gas to heat homes and by the recession, which meant lower usage by industrial customers.

Farmer said the company has reduced its personnel and equipment expenses and has delayed capital expenditures. "It is essential that we receive this increase to meet our responsibilities to customers and earn an adequate return for stockholders," he said.

by CNB