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Dominion News Releases
February 23, 2000
Peoples Energy, Dominion Resources Announce Expansion of
Elwood Power Facility
Chicago -- Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) and Peoples
Energy Corporation (NYSE: PGL) today announced plans to expand Elwood Energy
LLC's peaking plant in Elwood, Illinois, by an additional 600 megawatts.
This expansion to the state's first merchant power facility
will double the peaking capacity of the jointly owned plant to 1,200 megawatts.
Dick Terry, chief executive officer of Peoples Energy Corporation
stated: "The Elwood expansion is an important addition to our power generation
business. Furthermore, this expansion will make a major contribution towards
achieving our goal of deriving 25 percent of our earnings from diversified businesses
by 2002."
Thomas F. Farrell II, chief executive officer of Dominion
Energy, the electric generation subsidiary of Dominion Resources said: "Expansion
of Elwood Energy is consistent with our strategy to grow power generation capability
in the Midwest-Northeast quadrant of the U.S. and to meet the increasing energy
needs of this strategic geographic area, home to 40 percent of the nation's
demand for energy."
The $230 million expansion adds four, General Electric, 150
megawatt, Frame 7FA Model 7241 simple cycle, natural gas-fired turbines to Elwood's
existing 600 megawatt capacity.
Construction to add the high efficiency, low-emission turbines
will begin this summer and be completed during the summer of 2001, in time to
meet peak summertime demand. The expansion is expected to add about four employees
to the facility's current six-person staff.
The Elwood facility is located adjacent to several interstate
natural gas pipelines that provide access to competitively priced gas supplies.
The facility's generators interconnect to a high-capacity Commonwealth Edison
transmission corridor that provides delivery to Midwest power markets.
Contract discussions with potential purchasers of Elwood's
expanded output are underway, but details are not available. Existing production
is sold under multi-year contracts with Commonwealth Edison Company and Engage
Energy US, LP.
Elwood's existing 600 megawatts of capacity was placed in
service in July, 1999. The 600-megawatt expansion represents the next phase
of a total planned development of up to 3,100 megawatts of simple and combined
cycle generation. When fully built, Elwood would be Illinois' largest merchant
facility.
Dominion Resources, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is the
largest fully-integrated natural gas and electric power provider in the U.S.
Peoples Energy is a diversified energy company comprised
of five primary business segments: Gas Distribution, Power Generation, Midstream
Services, Retail Energy Services, and Oil and Gas Production. The Gas Distribution
business serves about 1 million retail customers in Chicago and northeastern
Illinois. Visit the Peoples Energy web site at www.pecorp.com.
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Media: Hunter
Applewhite; 804-819-2043
Investor Relations: Tom Wohlfarth; 804-819-2150
Media: Luis Diaz-Perez;
312-240-4567
Investor Relations: William Reynolds; 312-240-4288
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