Dominion Receives Approval For Two
Expansion Projects
RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion has received Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) approval for two new natural gas transmission projects that
will provide additional supplies to the Mid-Atlantic region — the Mid-Atlantic
Expansion Project and the Cove Point East Project.
Gary Sypolt, president, Dominion Transmission, said:
"We applaud FERC's swift action on both proposals. Demand
for incremental transmission and supply in the Mid-Atlantic is significant and
growing, but its scope and nature continue to evolve. This requires financial
and strategic flexibility on the part of private-sector developers, as well
as a reasonable degree of speed. We appreciate FERC's demonstrated ability to
recognize innovative, efficient ways to meet new demand and its willingness
to make swift, sound decisions. In these instances, the Mid-Atlantic and Cove
Point East projects are the first expansions that will include liquefied natural
gas (LNG) as a supply source."
The Mid-Atlantic Expansion Project will serve markets in the
Virginia and the Washington, D.C. area with 223,000 dekatherms per day of incremental
pipeline capacity and 5.6 billion cubic feet of additional storage service capacity.
Facilities will include 5,000 horsepower of new compression in Wetzel County,
W.Va.; an upgrade to the existing turbines at Dominion's Crayne Station in Waynesburg,
Pa.; expansion and upgrades at Chambersburg Station in Chambersburg, Pa.; a
7,800 horsepower addition at Leesburg Station in Leesburg, Va., and 6,000 horsepower
of new compression in Fauquier County, Va. The estimated cost for the Mid-Atlantic
Expansion Project is $78 million with a projected in-service date of November
2004.
In addition, the Mid-Atlantic Expansion Project includes leasing
capacity on Texas Eastern Transmission, LP pipeline in southern Pennsylvania.
Texas Eastern has been granted FERC approval to install 35 miles of new pipe
and upgrades to its compressor station in Fayette County, Pa.
Cove Point East is an 445,000 dekatherms per day expansion
of the 87-mile Dominion Cove Point pipeline in Virginia and Maryland. Two new
compressor stations with a total of 19,340 horsepower will be added in Loudoun
and Fairfax counties at an estimated cost of $43.5 million. The expansion will
allow Dominion to send natural gas both east and west on the pipeline, thus
making it a key component in bringing needed supplies to the Mid-Atlantic region,
both through its LNG facility at Cove Point and other pipelines that converge
in the suburban Virginia area. The facilities are projected to be in-service
in 2005.
All the new capacity on both the Mid-Atlantic Expansion and
Cove Point East projects is fully subscribed.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a diversified and integrated energy portfolio that includes 24,000 megawatts
of generation and 6.2 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves.
Dominion also serves 5 million retail energy customers in nine states. For more
information about Dominion, visit the company's web site at www.dom.com.
