Any residential customer of Dominion East Ohio whose gas service has been disconnected, or is in danger of loss of service due to nonpayment, may restore service or avoid disconnection under special winter heating reconnection procedures in effect now through April 13, 2007.

In accordance with a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio order, Dominion East Ohio customers can maintain gas service, or have it restored, by choosing one of the following options, whichever is lowest:

• Pay the entire past-due balance shown on the bill;
• Pay past-due default amount if a customer is on a special payment plan;
• Pay $175;
• If a customer’s service has already been disconnected, the customer must pay the $175, and an applicable reconnection fee to restore service.

There is no income eligibility requirement to use this program, but customers will be enrolled in a payment plan to help pay off any past-due balance. The reconnection procedure can only be used once between now and April 13, 2007.

To take advantage of the reconnection procedure, customers should call Dominion East Ohio at 1-800-950-7989.

Customers seeking Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) information, should call the Office of Community Services at 1-800-282-0880.

Dominion East Ohio reminds all of its customers of the availability of various energy assistance programs and payment options to help with upcoming winter heating bills, or past-due balances.

Budget Billing

With the Budget Billing Plan, customers pay a fixed budget amount each month. Dominion East Ohio will review the budget amount periodically, and adjust it, if necessary, so that the customer won’t have a high bill or large credit at the end of the budget year. Customers must be current with their bill to be eligible for the budget billing option. To sign up, customers should call Dominion East Ohio at 1-800-362-7557.

Payment Plans

Dominion East Ohio also offers to eligible customers the Current-Plus Plan to help better manage gas bills. First, the customer decides how many months—up to six—it will take to pay off their balance. Then the company divides the total account balance by the number of months the customer selected, and adds that amount to the customer’s current monthly bill. The Current-Plus Plan is available to all residential customers who are not enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP). With the One-Third Payment Option, a payment of one-third of the total account balance is accepted to reconnect or prevent disconnection from November 1, 2006, to April 13, 2007. To learn more about these payment options, call Dominion East Ohio at 1-800-362-7557.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.