West Virginia Public Service Commission Approves
Dominion Resources/CNG Merger
PSC Vote Is Third Important
Merger Approval
RICHMOND, Va., and PITTSBURGH -- The Public Service Commission
of West Virginia (PSC) has approved the merger of Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE:
D) and Consolidated Natural Gas Company (NYSE: CNG), the companies announced.
Thos. E. Capps, chairman, president and chief executive officer
of Dominion Resources, and George A. Davidson Jr., chairman and chief executive
officer of CNG, said in a joint statement:
"We believe the combination of our two companies will
provide substantial benefits to the Mountain State. This is a merger about growth,
and West Virginia will play an important role in our expansion plans. We thank
PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane and Commissioner Otis Casto for their timely consideration
and approval."
The action yesterday by the West Virginia PSC marks the third
important endorsement for the Dominion Resources/CNG merger. Shareholders of
both companies overwhelmingly approved the merger on June 30, and the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission unanimously approved it on June 24.
"We are on track and the momentum is building,"
Capps and Davidson said. "We continue to work toward closing the merger
by the end of the year."
Approvals are also required from the Virginia and North Carolina
public utility commissions and from several federal agencies.
Dominion Resources and CNG together have nearly 2,000 employees
in West Virginia. CNG’s utility subsidiary, Hope Gas, Inc., and interstate pipeline
and storage subsidiary, CNG Transmission Corporation, are headquartered in Clarksburg,
W.Va. Dominion Resources subsidiaries own electric generating stations in Mt.
Storm and Morgantown, W.Va. Both companies also have oil and natural gas exploration
and production operations in the state.
As evidence of West Virginia’s importance to the combined
company, Capps and Davidson noted the joint announcement last May of plans to
locate a $100 million to $200 million, gas-fired electric power generation facility
in Pleasants County, W.Va. The facility will provide electricity during periods
of peak demand.
"West Virginia sits at the crossroads of the Mid-Atlantic/Midwest
energy corridor," Capps and Davidson said. "This key location, along
with abundant natural resources and a highly skilled workforce, make the state
a desirable place for us to do business."
The Dominion Resources/CNG merger will create one of the
nation’s largest integrated energy companies. The merged company will serve
about 4 million electric and natural gas customers in five states. It will have
about 20,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity and will operate North
America’s largest natural gas storage system. The merged company also will be
one of the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production
companies in North America, with more than 3 trillion cubic feet equivalent
of reserves in the United States and Canada.
###
This press release contains forward-looking
statements. The companies wish to caution readers that the assumptions which
form the basis for forward-looking statements with respect to or that may impact
earnings for fiscal 1999, and thereafter, include many factors that are beyond
the companies’ ability to control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of
future market conditions and the behavior of other market participants. Other
factors include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, economic conditions
in the companies’ service territories, fluctuations in energy-related commodity
prices, conversion activity, other marketing efforts and other uncertainties.
