August 31, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion Virginia Power on Wednesday applied to the Virginia State Corporation Commission for permission to build a substation and five-mile-long power line in a fast-growing area of Stafford County.

If approved, the 230,000-volt transmission line would be built entirely on an existing right-of-way, linking a transmission line east of U.S. Route 1 and a proposed new substation near Garrisonville. The $13.5 million project needs to be in service by the summer of 2009 to meet the demand for electricity in the Garrisonville area, which is growing by 3 percent to 5 percent each year. Garrisonville is on the edge of Northern Virginia and along Interstate 95, about 30 miles south of Washington, D.C.

"Dominion is committed to providing reliable electric service to customers now and in the future," said John Smatlak, vice president-Electric Transmission. "This transmission line will increase Dominion's ability to provide electricity to the Garrisonville area and help prevent potential power interruptions."

The SCC, which is responsible for approving transmission power lines in Virginia, will set a schedule for public meetings and hearings. Dominion sponsored a public workshop July 11 in Stafford County at which residents provided information about the area that helped Dominion select the preferred route and alternatives.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of about 28,000 megawatts of generation, about 6.3 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates one of the nation's largest underground natural gas storage systems with about 950 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in ten states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

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