THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509020516
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Virginia Natural Gas Inc. said Friday that it has filed rate-adjustment requests with the State Corporation Commission that should initially lower the monthly bills for most of its customers.
The Norfolk-based utility, which has about 200,000 customers in Hampton Roads and the Richmond area, said it made two filings with the state commission.
One would increase basic rates by 2.9 percent, largely to cover the cost of $44 million worth of new pipelines and distribution facilities. The other request would cut by an even larger percentage the variable charges that VNG passes on to its customers to purchase gas. That's because natural-gas prices have recently been plummeting, VNG said.
The utility said the net effect of the two filings, if approved by the commission, would be to cut its average residential customer's October bill - not including taxes - to $35.42. The same customer would have paid $38.02 in October 1994, it said.
VNG has asked the commission to make the new rates effective Oct. 1. (Staff) by CNB