October 13, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. – More than 2 million compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs have been sold in the first year of Dominion Virginia Power's discount program with The Home Depot, and customer demand for the energy- and money-saving bulbs continues to shine.

“We are extremely pleased with the program’s ongoing success and its positive impact on Virginia,” said David A. Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power. “The financial incentive – combined with customer interest in energy conservation – is helping achieve new levels of energy efficiency in Virginia.

“Replacing regular bulbs with CFLs is a simple and cost-effective way to reduce electric costs and help the environment without requiring any noticeable lifestyle change. And, of course, the discounted purchase price is attractive, too,” Heacock said. As of Oct. 13, 2,033,000 CFLs have been sold.

Dominion initiated the discount program in October 2007 at The Home Depots in Dominion’s service area in Northern, Central and Eastern Virginia. Demand for the bulbs surpassed initial expectations, and Dominion expects the program’s growth to continue.

CFL bulbs require about 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and can last up to 10 times longer, resulting in significant savings for consumers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that total savings if consumers purchased 5 million CFL bulbs would be about $206 million over the life of the bulbs.

Additionally, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons – the equivalent of removing 186,689 cars from the road for one year – because of the reduced need for electricity.

Dominion is providing a $1.50 discount on single and $3 on multi-packs of Energy Star-qualified CFL bulbs purchased at The Home Depot stores in its Virginia service area. In 2008 Dominion added five more of The Home Depot stores to the program, increasing the total to 38 stores.

The Home Depot recently announced a national CFL bulb recycling program at all 1,973 of its stores. This free service offers customers additional options for making environmentally conscious decisions from purchase to disposal. Customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk.

Online Energy Calculator Also Helps Customers

Dominion customers looking for additional ways to increase the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses have a new tool at their disposal. An energy calculator, recently installed on Dominion’s Web site, helps customers determine the amount of energy they are using and explore ways to save.

The energy calculator, available at http://www.dom.com, allows customers to create a profile of their current household energy use, calculate the energy used by a variety of household appliances, and discover ways to make better energy decisions by reducing consumption and improving energy efficiency.

Dominion, Honeywell and The Home Depot stores in Dominion’s Virginia service area are cooperating to deliver the CFL program initiative. Additional information about the CFL bulb program, a list of participating store locations, and instructions about proper CFL bulb disposal and recycling can be found on Dominion’s Web site, http://www.dom.com.

Dominion is proud to be an ENERGY STAR® partner. ENERGY STAR-qualified products meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion serves retail energy customers in 12 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com.

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