January 30, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. – An updated report from a Virginia State Corporation Commission staff consultant that says a need "persists" for a new transmission line in Northern Virginia supports Dominion Virginia Power's application, John D. Smatlak, vice president-Transmission, said today.

In a supplemental report filed Monday, consultant Bates White LLC of Washington, D.C., said:

• "Both the original and the updated Bates White contingency analyses indicated major reliability violations in 2011 and 2012 … in the absence of major transmission system expansion such as the projected 500kV Loudoun Line." (Page 1, Paragraph 2)
• "In other words, the need for the proposed Loudoun Line persists even when the most 'up-to-date' power flow case is used as the basis for the reliability study." (Page 1, Paragraph 2)

"This independent report confirms our position - that our proposed transmission line is the best answer to prevent problems to the Northern Virginia regional electric system in the summer of 2011," Smatlak said. "The consultant took the new information, performed detailed load flow analyses and confirmed this project is needed to keep the lights on in our customers' homes and businesses."

The SCC staff hired Bates White to perform an assessment of the need for the power line. In its original report filed Jan. 8, the consultant said a critical need exists for electric reliability improvements by 2011 in Northern Virginia. Bates White updated the report Monday with the latest information about proposed generation and transmission lines in PJM Interconnection, the independent regional transmission operator.

Dominion is seeking approval from the SCC to build a 65-mile, 500,000-volt transmission line in Northern Virginia to alleviate projected overloads of the grid. Electric demand in Northern Virginia has grown by about 40 percent over the last decade and is projected to grow by another 8 percent by 2011.

The SCC Staff consultant's updated report is attached here for your convenience. It is also posted on the SCC Web site. The docket number is PUE-2007-00031.

About Dominion

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation, 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and 1 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) of proved natural gas and oil reserves. 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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