Some Roanoke Gas Co. customers in Virginia will be receiving refunds, with interest, following a decision Friday by the State Corporation Commission of Virginia (SCC), which approved a reduced rate increase request by the utility. Roanoke Gas customers have been paying higher natural gas rates since Oct. 23, 2004, the date that a requested increase was allowed to go into effect on an interim basis pending an SCC decision. The company originally sought an increase of $1.13 million, or 1.31%. Upon a review of the request, the company and SCC staff reached an agreement to lower the request by $278,306. Roanoke Gas was directed to recalculate all bills issued since Oct. 23, 2004, and in cases where the application of the new rates results in a reduced bill for a customer, the company will refund the difference with interest. The SCC’s final order allows Roanoke Gas to collect an additional $856,859 in annual operating revenue, an increase of 0.99%. For the average residential customer using 75 therms of natural gas in a month, the gas bill will increase by 85 cents.

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