Business

It’s too soon to calculate the costs of restoring electricity to customers of Appalachian Power Co. who were left in the dark by last month’s ferocious windstorm.
The bill might come next year, in the form of a rate increase.
An APCo spokeswoman declined to say last week whether the utility will pass the costs of power line repair along to its customers through higher monthly bills.

State regulators have approved Appalachian Power Co.’s request to increase the fee it charges customers to recover higher costs of coal and other fuel.
The new fuel rate approved by the State Corporation Commission is 2.953 cents per kilowatt-hour, an increase of 0.756 cents per kilowatt-hour from the rate established by the SCC in 2010.
For the average residential customer, the increase means the monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will increase $7.56, or approximately 7.2 percent.

Foodies and music fans could once again bask in sun or torchlight on the expansive patio of Doe Run when its restaurant opens again this summer.
Deborah Simmons can remember when Doe Run was the must-visit destination for food and fun in the region, when she enjoyed musical entertainment on the patio herself.
She wants to revive interest in the resort that straddles the Carroll-Patrick county line at Groundhog Mountain, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

HILLSVILLE — A public hearing on a request to rezone property at U.S. 221 and Virginia 668 will come before the Hillsville Town Council and planning commission Monday.
The rezoning request arises from a plan by Jeremy Hendrick to create a new asphalt plant on a portion of the property.
This involves a potential new venture by Hendrick, who also is in business with Nehemiah Engineering.