RICHMOND — The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is receiving public comments and has set a March hearing to consider the sale of the service territory of Allegheny Power to Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. The proposed transaction affects approximately 100,000 customers in all or parts of 14 counties in Virginia’s northern valley region.

Potomac Edison Company (which does business as Allegheny Power) and the two cooperatives filed a joint petition seeking Commission approval of the transaction. The estimated purchase price for the distribution facilities and associated attributes of retail service is approximately $350 million.

In its scheduling order, the Commission said, “This transaction may impact significantly the future rates for electric power paid by more than 100,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Allegheny’s current service territory, with a corollary impact on the future prospects for economic growth and job development in this region of Virginia. It could also impact significantly the current customers of [the cooperatives]. We must give this transaction the careful examination that the statutes require.”

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in the SCC’s courtroom on the second floor of the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street in downtown Richmond. Any person wishing to testify at the hearing should arrive early and notify the SCC bailiff.

The SCC will webcast the audio portion of the hearing via the Internet. Instructions for listening to the proceeding can be found on the SCC website at www.scc.virginia.gov/case.

Written comments on the proposed sale must be submitted by February 23, 2010. All correspondence should be sent to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118, and refer to case number PUE-2009-00101.

Interested persons desiring to submit comments electronically may do so at the SCC’s website: www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Click on the PUBLIC COMMENTS/NOTICES link and then the SUBMIT COMMENTS button for case number PUE-2009-00101.

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Case Number PUE-2009-00101

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