BOSTON HEIGHTS, Ohio – Dominion East Ohio plans to build a state-of-the-art technical training center in the Village of Boston Heights at 418 East Hines Hill Road. The company expects construction to begin this month at the 17-acre site with occupancy scheduled for December 2016.

The 37,000-square-foot facility will bring all of Dominion East Ohio’s training resources into one location. The company chose the site because of its central location and convenient access to major highways. The new facility will bring 12 to 14 full-time employees to the Village of Boston Heights, where they will develop and deliver technical and job skills training to employees.

“Federal pipeline safety regulations and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio rules require Dominion East Ohio to ensure, through training and evaluation of our employees, that they are qualified to perform various tasks on our pipeline system,” said Jeff Murphy, Dominion East Ohio vice president and general manager.

“One of Dominion’s core values is the safety of both customers and our employees,” Murphy said. “We currently provide employee training at several northeast Ohio locations. This proposed training center will provide all required training at one central location, in a state-of-the-art facility.

Along with field employees from throughout Ohio, Murphy said the facility will be used to train firefighters and other first responders regarding natural gas safety and procedures for responding to pipeline damage, reported gas leaks, and gas emergencies. “The combination of adequately trained employees and governmental first responders enhances public safety in the communities we serve,” he said.

Dominion is planning to design and build the training center to meet the Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of the U.S. Green Building Council.                     

“We believe this project will provide many benefits to the Village of Boston Heights,” Murphy said. “We are committed to becoming an active corporate citizen in the community and to making the training facility an industry showcase.”

Dominion East Ohio is a unit of Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 24,600 megawatts of generation, 12,200 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,455 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 928 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 13 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.