June 14, 2004

CLEVELAND - Before digging, a toll-free call to the Ohio Utilities Protection Service, (OUPS) 1-800-362-2764, can help customers and excavating contractors avoid costly damage to Dominion and other underground utility lines on their properties. State law requires customers and contractors to call OUPS at least two working days before beginning any digging.

OUPS will alert Dominion 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. Also, for safety's sake, customers and contractors should only dig around utility lines by hand.

Some cable television or water companies are not part of this service. Customers would need to contact those companies on their own. Knowing the location of these utility lines will help customers avoid costly damage or loss of service for themselves or their neighbors.

Dominion also reminds customers that the natural gas service line, which connects the company's main line to the home or business, is the property owner's responsibility. In short, Dominion does not own the gas service line. Consequently, the property owner is responsible for replacing a leaking natural gas service line.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio consisting of more than 24,000 megawatts of generation, 6.4 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas reserves, 7,900 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and more than 960 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. Dominion also serves five million retail energy customers in nine states. Additional information about Dominion is available on the Internet at www.dom.com.