Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992 TAG: 9203170141
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Apco President Joseph Vipperman and Jeff Janosko, president of the Roanoke County Preservation League, an anti-power line group, had expressed their opinions to the chamber's legislative affairs committee last week.
John Stroud, chamber executive vice president, explained the vote after the chamber's board met Monday. He said business and industry must feel confident the region has the capacity to meet its energy needs 24 hours a day.
He said a reliable and reasonably priced supply of electricity is basic to the region's ability to attract investment to create jobs. Stroud said the chamber did not and does not plan to evaluate the proposed route of the line.
Apco wants to build a 765,000-volt line from Wyoming County, W.Va., to Cloverdale by 1998.
The chamber will ask the State Corporation Commission to consider the need for additional transmission capacity based on projected increases in electricity demand, Stroud said.
Janosko's organization and other opponents have questioned Apco's need for more power. They say the line would not be needed if the utility would conserve more power.
The Alliance for Progress and Development of Pulaski County, chambers of commerce in Bluefield and Welch, W.Va., the Wyoming County, W.Va., board of commissioners, Gary, W.Va., Lions Club and the executive committee of West Virginia Manufacturers Association have supported the line, according to Don Johnson of Apco.
by CNB