Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 23, 1994 TAG: 9412230136
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The Richmond-based holding company and its utility subsidiary said they are addressing concerns raised in a draft report Dec. 1 by two state-hired consultants. (In Western Virginia, Virginia Power sells electricity in portions of Alleghany, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt and Rockbridge counties.)
Actions the companies have taken include returning finance-related functions to Virginia Power from the holding company, developing conflict-of-interest standards for directors and undertaking strategic planning for Dominion Resources to mesh with the utility's long-term planning.
The State Corporation Commission hired Baltimore-based Liberty Consulting Group and J. Robert Malko, an economics professor at Utah State University, to investigate the dispute between the companies and its effects on the utility's 1.8 million ratepayers.
The consultants' draft report noted continued mistrust between the two companies and wondered whether an Aug. 15 settlement between the two companies' boards would be a long-term solution to the dispute.
They recommended the SCC take steps to ensure Virginia Power's independence in managing its operations and organization without interference from Dominion Resources officials.
The consultants also said the commission should have extensive powers over the holding company and nonutility affiliates to ensure the utility's public service obligations are not jeopardized.
In response to the draft report, the companies said this week they opposed the recommendations for changing the corporate organization created under the August settlement. The recommendations would ``impose unique and, in some circumstances, extraordinary constraints on corporate governance'' of the companies, they said.
The companies also opposed recommendations for expanding the SCC's regulatory power over the holding company and its nonutility subsidiaries.
``These recommendations are unwarranted and unwise,'' the companies said.
The companies said they would work with the SCC and its staff to satisfy the concerns. However, they also noted that the consultants said the companies were performing well and there was no need for ``precipitous action by the commission to protect the public interest.''
by CNB