RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Virginia Power's Green Power® and discount program for the purchase of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs together are reducing emissions by the equivalent of removing 326,700 cars from the road for a year.  The CFL purchases also will save customers more than $349 million on their energy bills over the life of the bulbs.

"These programs are very popular with our customers," said Ken Barker, Dominion vice president of customer solutions and energy conservation.  "Both Dominion Green Power and the CFL lighting program help our customers help the environment."

As of September 30, approximately 13,000 residential and commercial customers were enrolled in Green Power, an increase of 31 percent from July 2010. Customers voluntarily pay a little extra in their Dominion bill each month to support renewable energy. Customers may specify a fixed amount or may choose to match all of their electricity use. Each option is based on a rate of 1.5 cents extra per kilowatt-hour. Information is available at www.dom.com/VAGreenPower.

Through the program, customers have supported 164 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy or enough electricity to power 13,600 homes for a year. Their purchases avoid emissions of 124,800 tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, or the equivalent of removing 21,700 cars from the road for a year.

Similarly, calculations based on information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that purchases of approximately 7.8 million CFL bulbs through Dominion's discount programs since 2007 are projected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 1.7 million tons, or the equivalent of removing approximately 305,000 cars from the road for a year.

Financial savings from buying CFLs also are significant. Calculations based on the EPA information found that it takes less than four months to recover the extra cost of buying a CFL bulb compared with a standard incandescent bulb. Depending on use and other factors, the EPA estimates a customer could save approximately $69 or more over the life of each bulb.  

Dominion offers instant discounts when purchasing CFL bulbs at participating stores in Virginia and North Carolina. A list of retailers is available on the Dominion website at www.dom.com/LightingProgram.

Barker noted that the company's paperless billing program is also proving to be popular with customers for its environmental benefits. Dominion customers are reducing paper usage by choosing to participate in the company's paperless billing programs. Approximately 25 percent of Virginia customers and 13 percent of North Carolina customers receive an email each month with information on how to view and pay their bill through Dominion's website or links to online financial services. Information on managing your account is available at www.dom.com, keyword MYA.

In addition to being able to pay bills electronically, customers can also use MYA to enroll in energy conservation programs and Green Power.

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,200 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

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SOURCE Dominion