Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 1, 1990 TAG: 9005010169
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: ELLISTON LENGTH: Long
Outages, some lasting as long as three days, prompted residents to circulate a petition asking that power be supplied by Appalachian Power Co. instead of the current supplier, Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative in New Castle.
"In the last few years, even before [Hurricane] Hugo, it's really gotten bad," said Richard O. Sarver Jr., who started the petition in October and got about 60 of his neighbors to sign.
The petition was sent to Montgomery County state Sen. Madison Marye. He referred the request to the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities.
The residents want out of the co-op, Marye said, "but the co-op will have to be operating badly for the SCC to allow that switch." The SCC has not allowed the switch, but is aware of the complaints.
Sarver, 27 and a laborer at with Roanoke Electric Steel, started the petition, which is now circulating in Roanoke County, after an outage interrupted his dinner last fall. "I got so mad. I said, `I've got to do something,' " Sarver said. "The cooperative is a dinosaur."
Operations at Craig-Botetourt started in 1938 after President Franklin Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration to bring electricity to the countryside. Rural systems, which buy power from investor-owned power companies, are non-profit and are owned and controlled by consumers.
The co-op serves some 5,000 customers in Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Craig and Botetourt counties and in Allegany and Monroe counties in West Virginia. Montgomery County has about 260 customers.
Many households, especially those near Catawba and Fort Lewis mountains, are in areas considered "mountainous regions no one else will serve," said Craig-Botetourt general manager Gerald Groseclose. "And we have thousands of miles of electrical line."
Groseclose acknowledges residents' concerns but thinks they don't truly understand that co-ops still face the same adversities as when they began: fewer people, higher costs for lines, and more rugged terrain than that served by private companies.
He said for every mile of line there are about five consumers, as compared with approximately 30 per mile for Apco.
"When people move out of the metropolitan areas for country living, this is one of the problems they have to deal with," Groseclose said.
When an outage occurs, co-op workers must spend more time walking the lines to find the trouble. The co-op also must spend about $400,000 on contractors to clear tree limbs and other hazards that threaten power lines.
"That's about 12 percent of our budget," said Groseclose.
Elliston petitioners understand that Craig- Botetourt has a rough job, but they think Apco could provide better service. "We know this isn't the easiest job in the world, but the problems are frequent and take too long to fix," said Sarver.
Larry S. Atkinson, who runs a used car business in Salem, said he's "been hooked up to the co-op for some 15 years and it's not been the best service." Atkinson said service is improving, but Craig-Botetourt needs to "get on the ball and clean some of the trees up."
Residents also are unhappy with high rates. "I'm just disgusted," said Athenee McGuire, 71, who lives on Social Security. "My husband and I have had to go to the bank to borrow money to pay the outrageous rates that co-op charges."
An average monthly bill is $57, McGuire said, but they've paid about three monthly bills as high as $400 during the winter. She and her husband, James, a carpenter, cook on a wood-burning stove and have a well with an electric pump. McGuire believes that without the stove, which is also used for heat, their rates would be higher.
Groseclose said Craig-Botetourt's rates are among of the cheapest for Virginia co-ops. He estimated that for an average use of 700 kilowatts, the co-op would charge $65. Although Apco would charge about $50 for the same service, Groseclose said "differences in rates are just a fact of life."
"If Apco or any investor wanted to buy this system and offer good service and lower rates, they'd lose money at those rates," he said.
But residents say they are tired of losing food in their freezers, they're sick of resetting their clocks and they don't want children catching colds when the heat goes off.
"This year there have been more outages than ever before," said Carol Sanderson, a manager at Lancer Truck Stop off Interstate 81, which buys electricity from the co-op. "When that happens, we can't pump diesel or gas. . . ."
"I've had nothing but trouble and I'd give anything to get off," Lancer owner Henry Brabham said.
He said he has paid $50,000 in repairs at Lancer due to the power surges. He's had to replace electric well pumps, an air conditioner and heating units that have burned up.
"We have transmission problems from our suppliers," said Groseclose. Virginia Power and Apco sell to the co-op. "And people do experience surges because of that."
Brabham said he's asked for reimbursement, but the co-op does not give reimbursements, according to Groseclose. Brabham said the truck stop is one of the last customers on Craig-Botetourt's line, so it is affected by all outages.
"I think they try, but when they get to me it's too late," he said.
Groseclose said the outage time for the average customer is higher than for Apco customers overall, but it's the same for Apco customers who live in mountainous areas.
Although Craig-Botetourt has received numerous complaints over the years, Groseclose said the petition was prompted by Hurricane Hugo's damage.
Sarver, who owns a mobile home on Bradshaw Road, said he and his wife, Tina, lost $70 in food during Hugo and they and their two children had no hot water or refrigeration for almost four days.
"But outages were happening before the storm," Sarver said. "You'd be sitting here waiting for supper, the lights would blink and go off and you'd end up cooking the rest of the dinner out on the grill."
The SCC allows only one utility to serve an area and does not reassign territory without a valid reason.
When the SCC received the petition, its Division of Energy Regulation asked Craig-Botetourt for a 12-month outage report to determine if the outages were within the co-op's control.
The division found that service had been improving since the co-op's report for 1989, which claimed six outages between July and October in the Elliston area. These were caused by lightning, Hurricane Hugo and fallen trees.
"The co-op has assured the commission that they're maintaining the corridor and providing effecient service," said SCC spokesman Ken Schrad. "However, they cannot guarantee service free of outages."
Schrad said the SCC decided not to reassign properties, but will continue to monitor the co-op's sites and service. If the residents, or any customer of a cooperative, does not agree with that decision, the SCC can be petitioned and the public can require a hearing.
"Craig-Botetourt is not a bad operation," Schrad said. "And considering Hugo and the other storms, they're doing pretty good."
Craig-Botetourt also reported "plans to continue clearing as much right of way as is financially feasible."
However, if the SCC had decided to reassign the area, Appalachian Power would try to help the residents, said Richard K. Burton, Apco spokesman.
Some residents, meanwhile, have devised their own solutions.
Mackie Waltz of Elliston bought a generator to use when the power goes out. She said it's happened so many times that "you've got to be prepared." Sarver is considering buying gas appliances.
Groseclose has asked Sarver to serve among Craig-Botetourt's advisors and Sarver has accepted.
"We have nothing to hide here," said Groseclose. "I understand their problems, but I'm proud of what we have done here."
by CNB