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

DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994                    TAG: 9406280363 
SECTION: BUSINESS                     PAGE: D1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: By TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940628                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCC COMMISSIONER: VIRGINIA POWER CAN RUN SEPARATE PLANTS FOR BIG CUSTOMERS

{LEAD} An experiment that would allow Virginia Power to build and operate separate generating plants for its major customers has won support from a State Corporation Commission hearing examiner.

The plan, which must be reviewed by the SCC's three commissioners, is an effort by the state's largest electric utility to hold onto some of its larger industrial and commercial customers.

{REST} Virginia Power, which provides electricity to more than 1.8 million customers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, said Friday it was ``delighted'' by the favorable recommendation.

``This is exactly what we asked for,'' said William H. Byrd, a spokesman for the Richmond-based utility. The ability to build and operate generating plants for large customers ``is an important tool for serving a very important group of customers.''

Some industrial and commercial plants in the state, including paper and chemical manufacturers, use enough electricity to justify building their own plants instead of buying it from a utility. By building plants for these large power users, Virginia Power can continue to profit from these customers.

The industrial and commercial customers capable of building their own power plants and dropping Virginia Power's service account for only 11 percent of the utility's revenues. But the volume of their demand is large and tends to be much more stable than the demand from other classes of customers, Byrd said.

Virginia Power already is faced with the possible loss of electricity sales to Du Pont plants in Virginia. Earlier this year, the giant chemical manufacturer and a Louisville power company proposed forming a partnership that would build and maintain generating plants for DuPont facilities in the state.

Virginia Power has asked the SCC to block the DuPont-Louisville Gas & Electric Energy Corp. venture. The matter is still being considered by the commission.

The Virginia Power plan endorsed by the SCC hearing examiner would be limited to 10 customers and a combined output of no more than 200 megawatts of electricity - a fraction of Virginia Power's total capacity of more than 16,000 megawatts.

The SCC examiner said the three-member commission could approve the utility's plan on an experimental basis. A permanent program for building and operating power plants for specific Virginia Power customers probably would require several changes in state law, he said.

The SCC examiner said it was sensitive to the competitive threat facing Virginia Power and its customers.

by CNB