Dominion News Releases

April 12, 2001

Dominion Joins CME in Proposed Monroe County Power Project

DUNDEE, Mich. – Dominion (NYSE: D) is joining CME North American Merchant Energy as a partner in the proposed development of an electric generation facility near the village of Dundee in Monroe County, Michigan.

If the 800-megawatt natural gas-fired project is brought to completion, it would represent an investment of more than $300 million in Monroe County.

Jerry V. Llaneza, Dominion’s director of business development, said:

“This proposed development has solid potential to meet Michigan’s growing energy needs. We also believe the project can be designed, sited and developed in a manner that provides strong economic benefits to the local community and preserves the environmental integrity of the area.

“But the proposal needs additional analysis. The ultimate timeline for developing and beginning commercial operations will depend on several studies that the new partnership intends to carry out before proceeding.

“Accordingly, our first task will be to evaluate all possibilities that can provide key elements of a successful project – water supply, fuel supply, zoning, and electric interconnection. We intend to identify appropriate options and alternatives for each. We’re beginning to gather the necessary information we’ll need to complete our study and are committed to no specific option at this time.

“Dominion is already an active corporate citizen in Michigan and has been for some time. We’re encouraged by the initial support we’ve received from Dundee Township officials.”

Dominion has net production per day of about 55 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas from about 229 billion cubic feet of reserves in the region.

Nedal Deeb, CME senior developer, said:

“We look forward to bringing together the financial and technical resources of both companies to develop this well-located site into an economically viable and beneficial addition to Monroe County. Our objective is to realize the completion of an operating power plant which has true support of the community and which has a valuable economic impact on the community and the region as a whole.”

Dominion, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is one of the nation’s largest producers of energy, with a production capability of 2.7 trillion British Thermal Units of energy per day. The company has a power generation portfolio of more than 21,000 megawatts, which is expected to grow to approximately 28,000 megawatts by 2005. Dominion is one of the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in North America, with 2.8 trillion cubic feet of equivalent reserves. Dominion also serves nearly 4 million retail natural gas and electric customers. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

CME, with offices in Boston and Chicago, is a well recognized development company that is currently involved in co-developing 6,300 megawatts of greenfield merchant plants in Ohio and Michigan. The company has plans to increase its merchant plant development opportunities to a total of 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2001. CME is one of the most innovative and aggressive independent power producers in North America. For more information about CME, visit the company’s Web site at www.cme-energy.com.