RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation’s largest energy companies, announced Tuesday that it has signed a contract with GE Energy to secure components for a possible new nuclear-powered electric generating unit.

Under terms of the contract, which are confidential, GE Energy would provide certain critical, "long-lead" components such as large forgings and other nuclear and turbine island parts based on GE’s ESBWR design.

While no decision has been made to build a new nuclear unit, Dominion is seeking an early site permit for a new reactor at its North Anna Power Station site in Mineral, Va.  It has announced that it would file for a Combined Operating License (COL) for the unit later this year.  North Anna currently has two, 910-megawatt nuclear units generating enough electricity for about 455,000 homes at peak demand.

"This is a sound business decision for us," said Mark F. McGettrick, president and chief executive officer of Dominion Generation, the unit of Dominion that operates its power stations.  "With this contract we have reserved large, critical components at a time when others are also considering building new units.  We believe the market for these components will be tight in the near future, so getting to the head of the line makes good sense."

Dominion applied for the early site permit in 2003.  The Atomic Safety Licensing Board heard testimony on the application last week in Louisa County, Va., which is home to North Anna.  Dominion expects the NRC to render a decision on the early site permit request by the end of 2007.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of more than 26,300 megawatts of generation, about 6.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also owns and operates the nation's largest underground natural gas storage system with about 960 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com.

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