Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / Oct. 13, 1983, edition 1 / Page 14
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Co-op Resisting CP&L Rate Hike Lumbee River Electric Member ship Corporation will soon be pay ing substantially more for the power it buys from Carolina Power and Light Co. (CP&L) if the company's latest rate hike pro posal is approved. CP&L submitted the request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission September 26, seek ing to raise overall rates by up to 24 for the 18 cooperatives it serves. The new rates would boost the cost of power for the CP&L-served EMCs by an estimated $20.8 million a year. The impact of the higher rates will vary on a percentage basis from one co-op to another. "Any way you look at it, if this rate increase is allowed as propos ed, it'll amount to major surgery on our power supply budget," said Ronnie Hunt, manager of Lumbee River EMC. "It's going to hurt and our consumer-members will feel the pain right in their pocketbooks." The most disturbing aspect of the rate proposal, Hunt said, is the fact that CP&L is asking for about $8.6 million to help Finance con stru :ion on plants that are still be ing built. "That's more than 40^o of the overall request, and the plants won't start operating for years to come. It's outrageous, but this kind of thing now has the full blessings of the FERC," Hunt added. The federal agency's policy on const ruction- work-in-progress (CWIP) costs was revised earlier this year to permit investor -owned utilities to charge their wholesale customers for part of those costs. Until the new policy became ef fective in July, the companies' in vestments in new plants could be reflected in wholesale rates only after the plants began operating. The policy change came after the utilities had mounted an extensive campaign at FERC seeking just such a ruling. Under FERC's new approach, the companies are allowed to charge wholesale customers for 50*7t of CWIP, but any given rate hike can include such costs only up to 6^0 of gross revenues. Hunt said the new treatment of CWIP costs will add an estimated S500 million to the power bills of co-op and municipal electric system consumers across the na tion. The impact of the ruling will be especially severe in North Carolina, where private power companies provide almost all of the energy for EMCs and municipal systems. "What all this amounts to," Hunt pointed out, "is granting the investor-owned companies like CP&L to interest-free financing on new plants. The money will come from con sumers who may never use any power from the plants involved, and they'll have no say-so about how their money is handled." The CP&L rate hike request will be opposed before FERC by Lumbee River EMC and North Carolina EMC, the power supply arm of the EMCs' statewide organization. N.C. EMC officials will seek an initial suspension of the new rates for five months, the maximum allowed under FERC procedures, and reductions in the rates themselves. The usual practice is for FERC to allow a rate hike to go into ef fect after a suspension period, sub ject to later review. If the commis sion eventually decides that the rates are too high, it would require that the extra charges must be refunded to the EMCs involved. Lumbee River EMC is part of the nationwide electric cooperative system of approximately 1,000 EMCs, and is one of 27 EMCs in North Carolina. Clarification In last week's News-Journal, it was noted that the population of Hoke County had increased by 3,266 residents during a two-year period which ended in July 1982. The county's population actual ly increased by 1 ,633 residents dur ing the period and was recorded at 22,016. RAEFORD Animal Clinic Animal Health Pet Supplies Bathing, Boarding and (jroommj\ l>v Appointment 875-8312 Harris Ave.. Raeford. N.C. nowT DISCOUNT BROKERAGE IS JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY! "*? ? ? .Dial -A- J ( Trade A new discount brokerage service available at Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Association. Dial-A-T'ade gives you the convenience of opening a securities account with peoo'e you Know and trust Plus you can save up to 70?*,' on broker commissions That s right ? 70?^ These savings can t>e yours by usmg Oial-A-Trade .nstead ol regular brokers Savings and convenience ? all ot your financial needs met in one place And by uaing your Heritage Federal account all settlement date requirements are processed automatically What could be easier'' Through a cooperative arrangement with Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Capital Discount Brokerage Incorporated makes Oial-A-Trade available to you so that these 70% savings can be yours starting with your very neat trade And it's as eesy as a trip to Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Call or visit your neerest Her itage Federal branch today to find out more about Oial-A-Trade " 'According to a t982 telephone survey of representative full-cost firms //eritaqew. Federal Association sipc 1 13 Cimpn Ave. Rarfnrri, N.C. ?atf otker locatioM la N.C. 9-5 Mon. thru Frl. 875-6061 FSDC Unusual structure Although some stranger to the rural south might think this grain handling equipment is some sort of mechanical monster or an antenna used to receive signals from outer space, it is actually part of the Farm Chemical Co. operation on Highway 20 outside of Raeford. LREMC Customers Will Receive Fuel Credit Lumbee River EMC customers will see a fuel credit for (he sixth consecutive month on the utility bills they receive after October 10 according to spokesman Lane Hudson. The local cooperative also reports an all-time demand peak set on August 22 this summer. "The fuel adjustment charge is passed directly from our wholesaler, CP&L, to our members," said Hudson. "Wholesale prices charged by CP&l arc based on a rate schedule, hut CP&L has federal authority to adjust the rates each month to account for electric generating costs estimated during the next 30 days and for the true cost of generating electricity two months ago." Hudson said that Lumbee River IN1C is passing along to its customers a credit of SI. 74 per 1 ,(X)0 kilowatts. Local Accountants Help Raeford Effort In a move to beef up efforts to revitilize downtown Raeford, the new offices of Pittard and Perry, Inc. have been built on South Main Street. "The new offices provide a solid anchor for the downtown area," Hoke Chamber of Commerce Director Earl Fowler said. Frank Baker, Pittard and Perry accountant, was apparenty the key to the re-location on Main Street. According to Fowler, Baker was "very instrumental" in coming up with downtown revitilization plans when he was on the chamber board several years ago. "We had looked at several loca tions for our new offices and decided the one on Main Street was the best," Baker said. "Making the downtown area more appealing did enter into the decision to locate here," Baker added. In his efforts to make Main Street more appealing, Baker has planted shrubs "on city property "at the company's ex pense and had his utility wires run underground to "make the place more attractive." "The architect the city hired em phasized that placing utility lines underground was a very important part of the downtown plan, so we decided to go along with that," Baker added. "We followed certain aspects of the original plan when we decided to locate on Main Street," Baker said. "I think he went an extra mile in { locating downtown. It shows that he is investing in the future of downtown Raeford," Fowler said. "I do not think the downtown area is a lost cause. It is too good a situation for us to allow it not to be improved," Baker said. "There is a lot of potential here. There is a tremendous opportunity for the downtown area to move | forward and I believe it will," Baker said. "We would not foolishly invest in a place that we did not think would not prove beneficial," Baker said. "We believe that the downtown area will begin to thrive," Baker said. "This is just one of many good j indications that things are good here and going to get better," Fowler said. JVC Natural Gas Directors Name Upchurch Successor Frank Barragan, Jr., president of North Carolina Natural Gas Corporation, announced recently the election of C. Felix Harvey of Kinston to the Board of Directors of the Fayetteville-based gas utili ty. Harvey assumed his new posi tion on the Board effective Oc tober 1, after being elected to fill the vacancy created by the retire ment of T.B. Upchurch, Jr., of Raeford. A distinguished member of NCNG's Board for othe past 20 years, Upchurch will continue to provide counsel as an advisory director. Harvey is Chairman of the Board of L. Harvey & Son of Kinston, a privately owned firm which deals in liquid and solid fer tilizers, farm machinery and sup plies, retail groceries, insurance and petroleum products. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce, he serves as an officer and board member of numerous other businesses and organizations in North Carolina, among them j River Terminals, Inc., of Fayet teville, and First Financial Savings & Loan Association, of Kinston. A past president of the North Carolina Citizens for Businesses and Industry, he is well known statewide for his activities in civic and business associations and com munity improvement programs. YOU CAN SAVE $250 ON HEATMG AND COOUNG YOUR HOME. All IT TAKES IS COMMON SENSE. 'ou build a home can make up to a 40%difference in what you pay for heating and cooling. Yet some people tend tothinkan energy-efficient home has to be an exotic plan out of the 21st Century IH , , ^ fact IS' alnn?st any ' Savings baserJ on houses. uth 1500 square feet Bigger houses save more Kind 01 HOUSC C3.PI D0 UUlIt to what we call "Gammon Sense standards. And, even though it does cost a bit more to build, your energy savings of $20 to $30 a month make up the difference in a hurry What's more, chances are, there are also a lot of ways you can save in the home you're in now So call us or stop by Because the we get out of ours." An CMI The BetterYou Do, The Better We Do.
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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Oct. 13, 1983, edition 1
14
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