Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 19, 1993 TAG: 9305190146
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - The State Corporation Commission held a hearing, but not a single Appalachian Power Co. customer made the trek to Richmond on Tuesday to comment on Apco's request for a $31.4 million rate increase.
The public hearing at the SCC's new downtown office building was part of the process to determine whether to allow the utility 5.5 percent higher rates. A more formal hearing on the merits of the case is scheduled for July 18.
A half-dozen state and industry lawyers showed up. Apco sent two mid-level managers; one stopped on his way to Washington, D.C., and the other made the trip just for the hearing.
When no one appeared to speak, the hearing was adjourned. The event lasted about 30 seconds.
The SCC has let Apco implement the rate boost until the hearing process is complete. If the commission later rules there is no need for the increase, Apco would have to refund the money with interest. A homeowner's average monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours jumps $4.05 under the increase. - Staff report Fieldcrest strike draws 70% of union
More than 70 percent of the 950 union workers at the Fieldcrest Cannon towel mill at Fieldale were out on a 24-hour strike Tuesday as part of actions at six plants, union leaders said.
The strike was called by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union after the firing of a union steward at Eden, N.C., and "a series of unfair labor practices," said Doug McCloud, an ACTWU spokesman. He called it the first general strike against the company since the 1950s.
McCloud said the company called the strike a failure, "but the parking lots were empty. . . . We gave them a wake-up call."
The strike was two days at North Carolina plants but the Fieldale walkout was for 24 hours, ending Tuesday night.
Negotiations in a contract dispute Monday brought no agreement, the union said. McCloud said the major issue in bargaining is job security.
Terry Dyer, one of two vice chairmen of Fieldale Local 1708, said the union workers will be back on the job today. - Staff report
Briefly . . .
\ Richard Disbrow, who retired in April as chairman of American Electric Power Co., on Tuesday was named chairman of Intersource Technologies, developer of a new E-Lamp electronic, long-lasting light bulb. The bulb, to be sold later this year, can last from 15,000 to 20,000 hours and is four times as efficient as an incandescent bulb, said the Sunnyvale, Calif., company.
\ The nationwide cost of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline rose an average 1.4 cents since April 20 to $1.132 per gallon, its highest point this year, the American Automobile Association said Tuesday. The motor club's monthly report shows self-serve mid-grade unleaded and premium unleaded both rose 0.7 cent per gallon, to $1.226 and $1.309, respectively.
by CNB