December 6, 2002

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. - Dominion (NYSE: D) committed additional line crews and tree trimmers Friday to northeastern North Carolina and southside Virginia to reconnect electricity to the remaining 8,000 customers without power from this week's winter storm.

As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, about 7,000 Dominion electric customers in northeastern North Carolina and 750 in rural Virginia remained without power. The company dispatched more than 350 additional field employees to assist customers in the Roanoke Rapids area.

Since the ice storm swept through the company's service area late Wednesday and Thursday, Dominion has successfully restored power to about 60,000 customers, or more than 85 percent of the customers affected by the storm.

Customers in southside Virginia and most in North Carolina should have power restored by the end of Friday. Dominion expects several hundred of Roanoke Rapids-area customers not to have their power back on until Saturday. Crews in that region report ice damage has toppled trees into roadways, caused downed power lines, broken poles and cross arms. Dominion has performed repair work at more than 100 locations in the region, where the company serves 25,000 customers. Customers should report downed power lines or power outages by calling 1-888-667-3000.

Dominion has a diversified and integrated energy portfolio consisting of about 24,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves more than 3.8 million franchise natural gas and electric customers in five states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
 

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