RICHMOND, Va., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Becky Merritt, vice president-Shared Services at Dominion (NYSE: D), has been named Minority Small Business Champion by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Richmond District Office. The award was presented yesterday during the 2013 Virginia Small Business Week Award luncheon in Richmond.

Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said:

"While Dominion continues to build and upgrade energy infrastructure to serve our customers' needs, we have a vested interest in growing our supply base, in building relationships and in identifying qualified diverse suppliers. I am pleased that Becky Merritt is leading these efforts, and delighted that those efforts are being recognized with this award."

The company's supplier diversity program seeks out certified minority, female-owned, HUB zone and disabled service veteran-owned enterprises that are qualified to meet Dominion's needs. In 2012, $398 million in non-fuel procurement was spent with diverse suppliers, up 27 percent since 2011.

Merritt chairs the advisory board for the Metropolitan Business League and serves on the boards of directors for the Women Presidents' Educational Organization and the Dominion Credit Union. She also serves on committees for United Way Women's Leadership Initiative and the Edison Electric Institute.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,000 megawatts of generation, 11,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

SOURCE Dominion