THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 3, 1994 TAG: 9408030384
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE MAYFIELD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Seeking to capitalize on broadening energy deregulation, Consolidated Natural Gas Co. said it will start selling electricity to large customers around the country.
As part of the plan, CNG, parent of Norfolk-based Virginia Natural Gas Co., said it will shuffle several top executives, effective Sept. 1.
In an interview Tuesday, William F. Fritsche Jr., president of Virginia Natural Gas, said that the Pittsburgh-based CNG is evolving from a gas company to an ``energy-moving company.''
``I think moving BTUs will become more of the focus,'' he said, ``whether you're talking oil, gas or electricity.''
CNG said it will ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow its new subsidiary to get into electric-power marketing. It said it would buy and re-sell electricity and assemble electricity supply packages for other utilities, factories and other large energy users. In recent years, federal energy deregulation has opened up competition for serving such customers.
CNG is a part-owner of a large gas-fired electric-generating plant now under construction in New Jersey, Fritsche said.
Fritsche is one of the executives affected by CNG's new focus. He has been named head of a larger CNG subsidiary in Cleveland, the East Ohio Gas Co. The move paved the way for that unit's president, Russell R. Gifford, to take over the newly formed CNG Energy Services subsidiary that will market gas and electricity to large energy users.
Fritsche said his replacement at Virginia Natural Gas will likely be named within a month.
He is part of a team that is reviewing candidates for the job. All are from within CNG, he said.
During his seven years as president of Virginia Natural Gas, Fritsche has steered the Norfolk-based utility to rapid growth and helped calm turmoil arising from the utility's sale to CNG four years ago by Dominion Resources Inc.
Virginia Natural Gas gained about 60,000 customers during Fritsche's presidency, to a current 191,000. But it added only about 75 employees during that period, to today's 600.
``If you don't upsize,'' Fritsche explained, ``you don't have to downsize.''
With a recently completed 120-mile pipeline from Northern Virginia to Williamsburg adding a new source of gas, Virginia Natural Gas is positioned for further expansion, he said.
The utility pulled about $180 million in revenues last year. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
William F. Fritsche Jr., president of VNG for seven years, will be
the head of a larger CNG subsidiary in Cleveland, the East Ohio Gas
Co.
by CNB