THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508020135
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Chesapeake residents soon will have less incentive to tell Virginia Power ``the check's in the mail.''
The state's power company opened six new customer payment centers throughout the city on Tuesday to provide convenient locations and extended hours to make it easier for customers to pay their electric bills in person.
The six centers in Chesapeake will be part of more than 200 payment centers the power company plans to open across Virginia by 1996.
Virginia Power has contracted with American Payment Systems Inc. of New Haven, Conn., to establish the payment locations. Currently the company takes payments for about 30 utility companies across the United States.
All of Chesapeake's new payment locations will be open seven days a week, some will even be open 24 hours a day, said George W. Imel III, Virginia Power's Chesapeake district manager.
Customers will be able to pay their electric bill at any of three Be-Lo grocery stores or three Farm Fresh supermarkets.
The Be-Lo locations are open until 10 p.m. and two of the Farm Fresh stores are open 24 hours a day.
With the advent of these payment centers, Virginia Power will finally stop taking payments on Oct. 31 at its Chesapeake business office on South Military Highway. Company officials feel this three-month transition period will give customers enough time to become familiar with the new Chesapeake locations.
The first Virginia Power neighborhood payment centers opened last year in Suffolk. Research statistics show that 91 percent of Suffolk customers surveyed are satisfied with the system and 96 percent said the system is meeting their needs.
At each site, store personnel will take payments at an automated terminal that sends the payment data to Virginia Power. Every type of electric bill payment will be accepted, including service deposits, delinquent bills, partial payments, EnergyShare payments and payments to restore service.
In order to pay electric bills at the new service locations, customers must bring their Virginia Power bills. Bills may be paid in cash or by check or money order.
The new payment centers in Chesapeake are:
Be-Lo Food Store No. 59, 2725 Campostella Road.
Be-Lo Food Store No. 62, 1110 George Washington Highway.
Be-Lo Food Store No. 67, 4325 E. Indian River Road.
Farm Fresh Store No. 232, 309 S. Battlefield Blvd. (in the Great Bridge Shopping Center).
Farm Fresh Store No. 708, 211-15 Providence Road (in the Holly Point Shopping Center).
Farm Fresh Store No. 196, 701A N. Battlefield Blvd.
The three Be-Lo locations are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., the Farm Fresh on S. Battlefield Boulevard is open from 6 a.m. to midnight and the other two are open 24 hours a day.
More information is available by calling 858-4660 during normal business hours.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA POWER by CNB