September 12, 2002

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Energy, the electric generating unit of Dominion (NYSE: D), announced Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc.. and Westinghouse Electric Company to supply new reactor heads for the company's four nuclear reactors in Virginia.

The heads will be installed on the reactors at North Anna and Surry power stations by the spring of 2005. The capital project cost is $175 million, and has been incorporated in the company's plans. The replacements will occur during scheduled refueling outages for each of the four reactors.

The replacements will resolve degradation issues associated with penetrations, or tubes, on the vessel heads. The tubes guide control rods in and out of the uranium fuel core, absorbing neutrons and controlling the fission inside the reactor. The reactor head is more than 6 inches thick carbon steel with a quarter-inch stainless steel liner.

Dominion inspected the North Anna and Surry reactor heads in 2001 after several companies found heads damaged by acidic water that was seeping from inside the reactor around the control rod tubes. The water, which contains boric acid to supplement control of the fission process, cools the uranium fuel. The industry identified all pressurized water reactors as having the potential for this problem and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered inspections.

The company identified nine penetrations with apparent seepage or that did not meet American Society of Mechanical Engineers code on two of the four reactor heads -- six indications on Surry Unit 1 and three on North Anna Unit 2 -- and made repairs. There were no indications of damage on the North Anna Unit 1 or Surry Unit 2 reactor heads.

Dominion plans to replace three of the vessel heads in 2004 and one in 2005. The units can operate safely in the interim. Dominion will continue to conduct thorough inspections during refueling outages that occur every 18 months.

North Anna Power Station is in Louisa County, Va., and consists of two units, each with three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors capable of generating 1,842 net megawatts of electricity. Surry Power Station, in Surry County, Va., consists of two units, each with three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors capable of producing 1,625 net megawatts of electricity.

During ultrasonic inspection of 79 reactor vessel head penetrations at Dominion Energy's Millstone Unit 2, three control rod housing tubes were found to have minor indications that were not through-wall. The indications found were 22-thousandths of an inch deep. Repairs were made to all three tubes.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a production capability of more than 3 trillion British thermal unit of energy per day. Dominion 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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