214,000 stockholders a re- \ turn on the “unamortized

214,000 stockholders a re- \ turn on the “unamortized balance.” According to an SCC spokesman, that, in plain English, means the amount of funds actually spent on the defunct reactor. It seems Vepeo prefers to think of this money as an investment which should yield a return to its stockholders!

Consumer advocates shake their heads in disbelief at what they see as a brazen effort by the company to not only pass on to its customers the costs incurred by the misjudgment of its officials, but to make a profit on their mistakes in the bargain.

So what has this to do with the coal slurry pipeline?

The proponents who want to build the line include Vepeo and other utilities. They contend that the pipeline, which would transport coal in the form of slurry (coal granules mixed with water), would greatly reduce the cost of shipment from the coalfields of western Virginia to the coal-fired power generators in the east. The utilities say the coal could be piped for just over $6 per ton as opposed to the $19 per ton it costs to move it by rail. The line, they assure us, while costing about $1 billion, would enable the utilities to slash rates because of cheaper fuel transportation costs.

Needless to say, the railroads are up in arms over the prospect because revenue from hauling coal is vital to the fiscal health of the rail industry in the state. Besides, the railroads argue, the per ton cost of moving coal through the pipes would come to far more than $6, and the cost of the line itself would be nearer $2 billion than $1 billion.

The next battleground over the pipeline issue will be in the 1984 General Assembly which convenes for its 60-day session on Jan. 11. In order for the utilities to build the line a state law must be changed which, at the present time, prevents them from acquiring the needed rights-of-way across Virginia. The statute prohibits utilities from exercising the right of eminent domain, or condemnation, to acquire the rights-of-way, and they are expected to amount an all-out campaign during the legislative session to have the law repeated or altered.

The issue will pit the state's two most powerful lobbying giants, the utilities and the railroads, against each other in what promises to be one of the stormiest battles of the 1984 legislature.

A question which is sure to be raised will center on Vepco’s management record. Can a company which critics say made a half-billion dollar hash of its nuclear plant cost and operating projects be trusted to be any more accurate in similar projections concerning the billion dollar coal slurry pipeline?

In other words, will allowing the pipeline to be built expose the ratepayers to a massive rate hike to finance its building, and then perhaps another later on to pay for the mistake if Vepeo finds it has again misread the economic tea leaves?

It’s something which should concern the lawmakers. Growing numbers of their constituents are wondering just how much longer they can afford to have Vepeo save money for them.