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

DATE: SATURDAY, June 5, 1993                   TAG: 9306050138
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCC STAFF URGES TRIM IN APCO RATE REQUEST

The staff report, another step in the process of regulating utility rates, came one week after state Attorney General Stephen Rosenthal suggested the Roanoke-based utility lower its prices by 1 percent - not seek a 5.5 percent annual increase.

The SCC's public utilities staff report says a $10.5 million increase for Apco is appropriate. The staff will make its recommendation at a July 6 hearing on the increase.

"We're disappointed," said Dan Carson, the Apco vice president charged with overseeing rates, tariffs and contracts. "We, like any business, are faced with increasing costs. Our rates continue to be competitive . . . with almost any utility in the country."

Last December, Apco sought permission for the increase, its first since August 1990. The next month, President Joseph Vipperman said the company had "reluctantly" asked for higher rates to offset mandated accounting changes, benefit changes for retirees, abnormal weather and lower sales to other utilities.

The contested increase - instituted May 4 - adds $4.05 per month to the bills of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. SCC rules allowed Apco to implement the rate pending final approval; should the request be denied or reduced, customers will receive refunds.

Carson said Apco plans to respond to Friday's SCC report before the hearing. Roanoke-based Apco provides electricity to about 4,100 customers in Western and Southwest Virginia.