Dominion

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Dominion

Type	Public (NYSE: D)
Headquarters	120 Tredegar St. Richmond, VA 23219
Area served	NC, OH, PA, VA, WV
Key people	Thomas F. Farrell II, CEO
Industry	Electric Producer, Distributor, and Utility Natural Gas Distributor and Utility
Products	Electricity, Natural Gas
Revenue	$15.7 billion (2007)[1]
Net income	▲ $2.54 billion (2007)[1]
Employees	17,000 (2007)
Subsidiaries	Dominion North Carolina Power Dominion Virginia Power Dominion East Ohio Dominion Hope Dominion Peoples Dominion Cove Point LNG Dominion Clearinghouse Dominion Exploration & Production Dominion Gathering-Producer Services Dominion Generation Dominion Retail Dominion Technical Solutions Dominion Transmission
Website	Dom.com

Dominion is a utility company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It is one of the largest producers and transporters of energy in the country.^[2]

One of Dominion's subsidiary companies is Dominion Generation, which operates coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power stations in Virginia and New England. These facilities produce about 26,500 megawatts of electricity production, about 65 percent of which is sold to customers in North Carolina and Virginia.^[3] Approximately 40 percent of the total electricity produced comes from fossil-fueled power plants, most of which use coal.^[4]

Compensation

In May 2007, Forbes listed Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell II as receiving $2.73 million in total compensation for the latest fiscal year. He ranked 34th on the list of CEOs in the Utilities industry, and 395th among all CEOs in the United States.^[5]

Power portfolio

Out of its total 28,214 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity in 2005 (2.64% of the U.S. total), Dominion produces 31.9% from coal, 27.2% from natural gas, 22.6% from nuclear, 11.5% from oil, and 8.5% from hydroelectricity. Dominion owns power plants in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, WIsconsin, and West Virginia; 59.2% of the company's generating capacity is in Virginia.^[6]

Political involvement

Dominion Resources has been involved in seeking legislation to deregulate retail electric service in Virginia. In 2007, the Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation to "reregulate" but granted various rate concessions in connection with this new legislation, including the indexing of rates to measurers of inflation, thereby reducing the need to seek the Virginia State Corporation Commission's approval of rate increases.

The Dominion Political Action Committee has been very active in donating to Virginia candidates. In 2007, the Dominion PAC has donated $775,000, which was split evenly between Republican and Democratic candidates.^[7] In 2008 it contributed $675,000 to candidates, with 47% to Democratic Party candidates and 50% to Republican Party candidates.^[8]

Dominion is also one of the largest energy company contributors to both Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress. These contributions total $407,999 to the 110th US Congress (as of the third quarter), the largest of which has been to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) for $47,150.^[9] Rep. Cantor, for his part, has consistently voted with the coal industry on energy, war and climate bills.^{[citation needed]}

Contributions like this from fossil fuel companies to members of Congress are often seen as a political barrier to pursuing clean energy.

More information on coal industry contributions to Congress can be found at FollowtheCoalMoney.org, a project sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Oil Change International and Appalachian Voices.

Lobbyists

Dominion spent $1,840,000 on in house lobbying efforts in 2008 and an additional $470,000 in 2009.^[10] The registered lobbyists were Bruce McKay, Kelly Chapman, Carolyn Perry and Ann Loomis in 2008 with Bruce Byrd replacing Bruce McKay in 2009. Dominion also spent $120,000 on Ryan, Phillips, Utrecht & MacKinnon in 2008.^[11] The registered lobbyists were Thomas Ryan, Matthew Berzok, Jeff MacKinnon, Joe Vasapoli,George O'Connor,Bill Phillips, Doug Nappi and Rodney Hoppe. The lobbying duties were taken over in 2009 by Ryan, MacKinnon, Vasapoli & Berzok with another $30,000 from Dominion.^[12] The registered lobbyists were Thomas Ryan, Jeff MacKinnon, Joe Vasapoli, Matthew Berzok and Nick Kolovos.

Virginia residents file $1 billion suit against Dominion over fly ash site

In March 2009, attorneys representing almost 400 residents who live near Battlefield Golf Club in Virginia filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake Circuit Court, seeking over $1 billion in damages. The suit claims that Dominion Virginia Power sent fly ash to the site, ignoring a consultant's determination that the ash would leach harmful elements into the local drinking water supply. The lawsuit names as defendants Dominion, course developer CPM Virginia LLC, and VFL Technology Corp., Dominion's coal-ash management consultant. The suit accuses the companies of committing conspiracy and fraud, battery, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and the creation of a nuisance. The resident's attorneys are demanding the removal of all fly ash from the site; the cleaning of the aquifer and installation of public water and sewer service; compensation for personal injury and decreased property values; and the creation of a fund for treatment costs and health monitoring.^[13]

2009 rate increase

On January 1, 2009, Dominion implemented a rate increase for its Virginia customers to help pay for its Wise County Plant. The rate adjustment will raise bills by $1.53 for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity customers use, which translates to an increase of $1.84 per month for the average customer. The increase will subsidize $83 million in financing costs for the plant during 2009.^[14] Dominion made no announcement about the rate change.^[15]

2008 Rate increase

In June 2008, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved Dominion's request to increase its rates by 18 percent, the largest one-time increase in 30 years. Dominion applied for the increase to offset increases in fuel costs; the company's estimates included a 95% increase in coal costs, 55% in oil costs, and 20% in natural gas costs over the previous year. The change will raise the average residential customer's bill from $91 to $107.

The rate increase is part of a three-year plan to collect $700 million the company has been unable to recoup because of a state-imposed cap. Dominion will seek to raise its rates again in July 2009, and may also apply for an increase in its base rate, which comprises 75 percent of a customer's bill and is used to fund power plants, infrastructure, and company profit.^[16]

Environmental Record

Dominion was 19th on the Political Economy Research Institute's 2002 Toxic 100. The company was responsible for 15.15 million pounds of toxic air emissions in that year.^[17]

In December of 2007, a settlement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Dominion Energy of Brayton Point called for the company's power generating plant to install new closed cycle cooling towers that provided significant protection to aquatic organisms in Mount Hope Bay, which flows into Narragansett Bay. The 2007 settlement resolved an ongoing dispute that began in 2003. The EPA issued a final discharge permit called a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the Brayton Point Power Station requiring significant reductions in thermal discharges to, and water intake from, Mount Hope Bay.^[18]

Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) Clean Air Act Settlement

On April 21, 2003 the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA announced that Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO), now known as Dominion, agreed to a $1.2 billion settlement for charges that the company had violated New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act. At the time it was the largest settlement with any utility company for alleged Clean Air Act violations. By 2013 the company is expected to install equipment to control pollution that causes smog, acid rain and soot by eliminating 237,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) from their plants' discharge in Virginia and West Virginia.

“Today’s settlement reflects the combined efforts of all parties to reach one common goal – cleaner air,” said Tom Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These massive reductions in pollution will benefit not only the citizens of Virginia and West Virginia, but also the states in the Northeast to which windblown emissions of these pollutants are transported.”

VEPCO also agreed to pay a $5.3 million a civil penalty and spend at least $13.9 million more for environmental projects in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, all of which participated in the case. Dominion will be installing new pollution control equipment and upgrading existing controls on several units in its system.^[19]

Cove Point controversy

Dominion's Cove Point LNG Terminal is located near Lusby, Maryland, and it receives imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and also stores gas. In 2006, FERC authorized a further expansion of Cove Point's import capacity on an unregulated basis, with Statoil holding the expanded capacity.^[20]

Because the LNG at Cove Point contains a higher heat content than domestic natural gas, a local gas utility which receives LNG from Cove Point - the Washington Gas Light Co. - complained that its customers were adversely affected by this "hot" gas. As a result, the parties agreed to limit the heat content of the output of the terminal to 1075 Btu per million ft³ (1.134 MJ/m³) by injecting nitrogen into the gas stream.

Subsequently, Washington Gas Light has experienced a 16-fold increase in gas leaks on residential service connections in Prince Georges County, which is served directly by pipeline from the plant. These leaks come from mechanical couplings which contain rubber gaskets. Washington Gas Light claims that because the Cove Point gas has less hexane and other heavy hydrocarbons than does domestic natural gas, the Cove Point gas causes the gaskets to dry out and leak. Cove Point disputes these claims and argues that its current expansion will not cause additional leaks in the District of Columbia and Virginia suburbs, as the area served by unblended LNG expands.^[21]

In 2006, Cove Point filed a rate increase with FERC proposing to raise the prices it charges to customers in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland by 109%.^[22]

Blue Ridge Earth First! and Mountain Justice blockades Dominion's headquarters to protest planned coal-fired power plant in SW Virginia. June 30, 2008.

Protests against Dominion

June 26, 2007: March & Street Theater at Dominion Headquarters

On June 26, 2007, more than 35 people with the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Mountain Justice Summer marched in Richmond, VA, calling for Dominion to abandon its plans for a Wise County Plant in southwest Virginia. The march began at Massey Energy’s headquarters, where participants acted out a “baby shower” for newly-mined coal. With “baby coal” placed in a coffin, the march moved to Dominion Resources’ headquarters and a mock funeral was held for the coal, drawing a line between strip mining and coal-fired power plants. ^[23]

April 15, 2008: Blue Ridge Earth First! Blockades Dominion Headquarters

On April 15, 2008, protesters gathered in Richmond, VA as three people with Blue Ridge Earth First! blockaded the road in front of Dominion’s headquarters. The three blockading the road received summons for blocking traffic, but no arrests were made. ^[24]

June 30, 2008: Activists Blockade Dominion Headquarters

On June 30, 2008, 20 activists with Blue Ridge Earth First! and Mountain Justice Summer blockaded the entrance to Dominion Resources' corporate headquarters to protest the company's plan for the Wise County Plant in southwest Virginia. Four protesters formed a human chain with their hands encased in containers of hardened cement and a fifth dangled by a climber's harness from the Lee Bridge footbridge. After several hours police made their way through the miles of backed up traffic to cut the activists out of the lockboxes and barrels. The climber came down on his own. Police also detained eight others standing on the sidewalks supporting the lockdown team. Thirteen in total were arrested.^[25].

September 15, 2008: Blockade at Power Plant Site & Dominion CEO Presentation Replaced

On September 15, 2008, approximately 50 protested at the construction site of the Wise County Plant. A blockade of the construction site was created when participants locked down to steel barrel drums and to the gates of the site. Two of the barrel drums had operational solar panels affixed to the top that illuminated a banner reading "Renewable Jobs to Renew Appalachia." Eleven people were arrested. ^[26] Later that day in San Francisco, activists with the Rainforest Action Network infiltrated Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell’s presentation at Bank of America’s Annual Investment Conference. Farrell’s PowerPoint presentation was replaced with a slideshow of the Wise County Plant protest. ^[27]

February 7, 2009: Billionaires for Coal visit Dominion headquarters: Richmond, VA

About two dozen people identifying themselves "Billionaires for Coal" gathered outside the headquarters of Dominion to lampoon the coal industry. The activists wore formal dress and sipped from wine glasses, while shouting pro-coal, anti-environment slogans including "Up with sea levels, up with profits." A bluegrass band also performed, calling themselves "The We Love Money String Band". Although the group's signs and chants stayed on message with the billionaire façade, the activists distributed leaflets revealing that the demonstration was organized by Blue Ridge Earth First.^[28]

March 1, 2009: Activists rally against coal & Dominion in Massachusetts

In solidarity with the Capital Climate Action on March 2, protests were held in Massachusetts at the Dominion's Salem Harbor and Brayton Point plants, NRG's Somerset plant, and Northeast Utilities' Mount Tom plant.^[29] In Salem, about forty people rallied and speakers, such as Aviva Chomsky, were featured; the event was organized by HealthLink.^[29] In Somerset, seventy-five people rallied in a park within sight of both of the town's coal-fired power plants.^[29]

Existing coal-fired power plants

Dominion had 32 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 8,417 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Dominion's coal power plants with capacity over 100 MW:^[6][30][31]

In 2006, Dominion's 10 major coal-fired power plants emitted 56.2 million tons of CO₂ (0.9% of all U.S. CO₂ emissions) and 179,000 tons of SO₂ (1.2% of all U.S. SO₂ emissions).

Coal projects sponsored by Dominion

• Dominion Energy (Ohio) - cancelled
• Upshur County Project (West Virginia) - cancelled
• Wise County Plant (Virginia)

Existing Coal Mines

• Dominion 36 Mine

Contact details

Mailing Address
Dominion
P.O. Box 26532
Richmond VA 23261-6532

Street Address: Dominion
120 Tredegar Street
Richmond VA 23219
Phone: 1-804-771-6115

Resources

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Dominion Resources Inc., BusinessWeek Company Insight Center, accessed July 2008.
2. ↑ Corporate Overview, Dominion corporate website, accessed March 2008.
3. ↑ Dominion Generation, Dominion corporate website, accessed March 2008.
4. ↑ Fossil-Fueled Power Stations, Dominion corporate website, accessed March 2008.
5. ↑ CEO Compensation: #395 Thomas F Farrell II, Forbes.com, May 3, 2007.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.
7. ↑ "Dominion", The Virginia Public Access Project, accessed February 2009.
8. ↑ "Dominion: 2008", The Virginia Public Access Project, accessed February 2009.
9. ↑ "Eric Cantor", Follow the Coal Money, Appalachian Voices and Oil Change International, accessed February 2009.
10. ↑ “Dominion” Center for Public Integrity, accessed July 2009.
11. ↑ “Ryan, Phillips, Utrecht & MacKinnon” Center for Public Integrity, accessed July 2009.
12. ↑ [http://projects.publicintegrity.org/climatelobby/Results.aspx?ClientName=&LobbyingFirm=Ryan%2C%20Mackinnon%2C%20Vasapoli%20And%20Berzok%2C%20Llp%20Fka%20Ryan%2CPhillips%2C%20Utrecht%20%26%20Mackinnon&Expense=-1&LobbyistName=&Quarter=&BizCategory=&Results_BizCategory=1&Results_ClientName=1&Results_Expense=1&Results_LobbyingFirm=1&Results_Quarter=1 “Ryan, Mackinnon, Vasapoli And Berzok Llp Fka Ryan,Phillips, Utrecht & Mackinnon”] Center for Public Integrity, accessed July 2009.
13. ↑ Roger McCabe, "400 residents sue Dominion, developer over fly-ash site," Virginia Pilot, March 27, 2009.
14. ↑ John Reid Blackwell, "Rate rise tied to coal plant," Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 6, 2009.
15. ↑ "Va utility imposes rate increase," Associated Press, February 5, 2009.
16. ↑ "Dominion Rates to Rise 18%", Washington Post, June 28, 2008.
17. ↑ http://www.peri.umass.edu/Toxic-100-Table.265.0.html
18. ↑ Settlement Will Spur Major Environmental Improvements at Brayton Point Power Plant, U.S. EPA Newsroom.
19. ↑ "Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) Clean Air Act Settlement," U.S. EPA, accessed November 5, 2009.
20. ↑ http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=11065180 Retrieved 2007-02-16
21. ↑ http://washingtongas.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=pageF Retrieved 2007-02-16
22. ↑ http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=11078232 Retrieved 2007-02-16
23. ↑ “Virginians say “No” to a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County; Protests at Massey and Dominion”, Mountain Justice Summer, June 26, 2007.
24. ↑ “Earth First! Blockades Dominion HQ in Richmond in Protest of Coal Plant”, Chesapeake Climate Action Network blog, April 16, 2008.
25. ↑ "Thirteen arrested in protest at Dominion today", Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 30, 2008.
26. ↑ “Peaceful Protesters Lock their Bodies to Dominion Power Plant”, Wise Up Dominon, September 15, 2008.
27. ↑ “Dominion CEO Punk’d!”, Rainforest Action Network’s Understory blog, September 15, 2008.
28. ↑ "Billionaires for Coal Visit Dominion Resources HQ in Richmond February 7," RootsWire, February 7, 2009.
29. ↑ ^{29.0 29.1 29.2} "Massachusetts rallying to stop coal!", Secure Green Future website, accessed March 23, 2009.
30. ↑ Environmental Integrity Project, Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants, July 2007.
31. ↑ Dig Deeper, Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed June 2008.

• Oil Change International
• Appalachian Voices

Related SourceWatch articles

• Thomas F. Farrell II
• Illinois and coal
• Massachusetts and coal
• Virginia and coal
• West Virginia and coal
• United States and coal
• Global warming
• EPA Coal Plant Settlements

External links

• Dominion corporate website

Wikipedia also has an article on Dominion. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.