Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 2, 1995 TAG: 9505020121
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The SCC agreed Monday to a settlement of a dispute between Bedford's city-owned electric company and Apco over which of the two should serve the power needs of the expanding paper mill in eastern Bedford County.
Apco and Bedford worked out an agreement in which Bedford concedes to Apco the right to serve the mill in return for Apco's agreeing to sell Bedford part of a new substation to be built in the Big Island area and allowing Bedford to connect new high-voltage lines to the substation.
The substation, which will cost $2 million to $3 million, would have been needed anyway to serve the paper mill, Apco spokesman Don Johnson said.
The agreement, presented to the commission Monday at a hearing in Richmond, was accepted immediately, said commission spokesman Ken Schrad.
Discussions about a possible settlement originated at a conference before the hearing, involving the two parties and the SCC staff, Johnson said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bedford joined Apco in asking that Apco be allowed to serve Georgia-Pacific's needs east of the CSX railroad tracks in Big Island and that maps and other documents be amended to show the mill within Apco's service area.
Apco, in turn, will allow Bedford to serve retail customers in the Big Island area from the new substation.
A new 69-kilovolt line from the substation will strengthen Bedford's electric system and provide Bedford a connection to Virginia Power, which will be connected to the substation with a 115-kilovolt line.
Last week, the SCC staff had recommended that Apco be allowed to continue serving the mill. The staff noted that Apco had served the mill reliably for 35 years and would be a more reliable power supplier with the expansion, which will increase the mill's electric needs by 70 percent.
by CNB