June 16, 2006

Now that the weather is warming up, Dominion East Ohio reminds customers and contractors to call before digging any landscape or construction projects. By making a toll-free call to the Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) at 1-800-362-2764, customers may avoid costly damage to Dominion and other underground utility lines on their properties.

State law requires customers and contractors call OUPS at least two working days before excavation starts. Customers should only dig around utility lines by hand with a shovel. Knowing the location of these utility lines will help customers avoid costly damage or loss of service for themselves or their neighbors.

OUPS will alert the gas company and other participating utilities of customers' plans to dig. OUPS will ask these utilities to mark the approximate location of their underground gas lines and utility cables so that customers won't find them by accident. This is a free service.

Dominion East Ohio, and other member utilities of the Ohio Gas Association, will be conducting a statewide advertising and public awareness campaign to remind customers and contractors that state law requires them to make that toll-free call to OUPS. If customers and contractors break the law by not calling before they dig, they may be responsible for paying for damages, which often can cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

For more natural gas safety information, visit www.safegasohio.org, or go to the Ohio Utilities Protection Service site at www.oups.org.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves retail energy customers in nine states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.