Allegheny Power Acquisition
2010 UPDATES
Feb. 12 update — In a filing with the State Corporation Commission, REC and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative respond to a consultant's conclusions about the acquisition. Read the media release. Read the rebuttal testimony.
Feb. 2 update — REC and SVEC respond to a report examining the acquisition, which was issued by the State Corporation Commission's consultant. Read the entire media release.
2009 UPDATES
Nov. 18 update — Check which cooperative would likely service your Allegheny Power account.
Nov. 5 update — REC makes plans for its new Blue Ridge District Office.
Oct. 13 update — The Virginia State Corporation Commission has announced its schedule for considering the purchase of Allegheny Power. Review the official notice for more details about this timeline:
Nov. 6, 2009 — Official notice to public and local governments
Dec. 1, 2009 — Notice of Intent to Participate
Jan. 8, 2010 — Participant pre-filed
Jan. 29, 2010 — SCC staff report
Feb. 23, 2010 — Public comments
March 2, 2010 — Public hearing
Acquisition background
Pending approval by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, REC and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) are poised to serve all Virginia customers of Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Power. On May 5 the two cooperatives announced the success of their negotiations to purchase and equitably divide Allegheny's distribution assets in Virginia.
REC will grow to serve portions of Clarke, Frederick and Warren counties. The new territory will also include additional areas of the 16 counties where the Cooperative currently operates. The remaining half of Allegheny's customers will be served by SVEC. (See the maps below.)
Both Cooperatives have more than 70 years experience serving rural and suburban members and are well known for their commitment to the communities and member-owners they serve. REC and SVEC will benefit from improved economies of scale, increased ratio of meters-per-mile of line, and the addition of well-trained, experienced, and highly qualified employees. The cooperatives plan to purchase wholesale electricity for the new customers from the cooperatively-owned Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which will contribute to stabilized rates.
REC's post-acquisition profile is projected to look like this:
- Service area - increasing from 16 to 19 counties
- Meters - 148,000 (up from 98,000)
- Miles of line - 15,640 (slightly more than 3,000 additional miles)
- Meters per mile of line - 9.4 (versus the current 7.8)
- Employees - 385 (with most of the 75 new workers coming from Allegheny Power)
- Annual revenue - $412 million (increasing from $283.7 million)
