ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602050067
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
State senators approved a measure Friday designed to protect consumers from big increases in their utility bills, despite one senator's fear that it could scare the Navy out of Hampton Roads.
The bill helps protect Virginia Power's so-called stranded investment - millions of dollars in facilities and equipment bought to serve the Navy. If the federal government someday deregulates the power industry, the Navy could shop for power elsewhere, leaving that pricey investment fallow.
The Senate passed the bill, 26-11. It next goes to the House of Delegates.
Supporters say the bill is necessary to keep Virginia Power from passing its potential losses onto residential customers.
But Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, thinks the law would force the Navy to lose money, making Virginia bases likely candidates for closure.
"I would hate to see the General Assembly give the Department of Defense a reason to look at Virginia again in 1998 and consider relocating our bases," Stolle said.
Stolle's concern was over the Navy's contract with Virginia Power, which expires in 1998. The federal government could, by then, force the Navy to seek bids from other companies for its electrical power. The state, meanwhile, would be penalizing them if they accepted a bid from anyone but Virginia Power, Stolle argued.
The federal government is Virginia's largest employer, and Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of military bases of any area in the world, Stolle said.
He suggested the new law expire after 1998 so Virginia Power can incorporate its investment into a new contract with the Navy. The idea failed on a voice vote.
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB