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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 13, 1993                   TAG: 9304130301
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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LAKE CHAMBER ENDORSES LINE

Fearing Appalachian Power Co. statements that electricity blackouts could be in the future, the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce/Partnership has endorsed the power company's proposal to build a 765,000-volt line into Virginia.

"Apco is telling us we have a potential in the coming years of having a power source problem - without the power line that's being planned now," said Phil Hager, public relations chairman for the chamber of commerce/partnership.

Edward D. Waters Jr., president of the 270-member chamber/partnership, said that a "perception on the part of developers, investors, and prospective homebuyers that long-term electric power supplies may be deficient would have a seriously negative effect on our area."

As of Monday, 160 business, labor, civic and fraternal organizations had endorsed Appalachian Power's proposal to build the high-voltage line from Wyoming Station, near Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale, company spokesman Don Johnson said.

Appalachian Power officials are aware that power-line opponents claim the line would be used to sell electricity to Virginia Power, Johnson said, but the line would be used "for our customers."

And Johnson said the potential for blackouts is not something the company is saying just to garner support for the line.

"Without the line, the engineers have calculated various scenarios where, beginning about 1998, we start running into a situation where at peak times we could be faced with blackouts or brownouts, if some of our facilities went down," he said.

"That's a very real possibility."

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