THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 

                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994                    TAG: 9406240506 
SECTION: BUSINESS                     PAGE: D1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Short 
DATELINE: 940624                                 LENGTH:

SCC APPROVES RATE INCREASE FOR UTILITY:

{LEAD} The SCC approves rate increase for utility: The State Corporation Commission has approved a rate increase for Commonwealth Gas Services that will cost the average residential customer about 5 cents more a month. The $3.46 million increase, approved Thursday, is about $1 million less than the company requested. Commonwealth filed its rate increase request on May 4, 1993, stating it required annual revenues of $144.5 million. The SCC order will allow the company annual revenues of $143.6 million, an increase of 2.5 percent. The utility serves about 140,000 customers in Virginia, including 36,300 in Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Smithfield and Suffolk.

by CNB