Dominion Power 2001 Annual Report Download - page 17

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Together, these two valuable
company assets comprise about
3,300 megawatts of our existing
22,000-megawatt system.
They’re Dominion’s lowest-
cost source of power and a
critical competitive strength.
If we can add to our fleet by
purchasing a station at a price
that makes sense, run it at top
standard, and make an added
return on the investment, we’ll
bid for it. Last year, we completed
the purchase of the 2,000-
megawatt Millstone Power
Station on the Long Island
Sound in Connecticut, which
is selling energy profitably in
a region where market prices
for power are higher.
We’ve heightened security in
the aftermath of September 11
and are benefiting from the
oversight of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, as well
as the assistance of state authori-
ties. These constructive relation-
ships help in many valuable ways
not always evident to the public.
Operating With Excellence:
Six Sigma Now In Place
Good people always challenge
themselves to raise the bar.
Perhaps you’ve heard of
“Six Sigma,” the business-
improvement methodology.
With Six Sigma, you raise the
bar to unprecedented heights.
That’s exactly where we’re going.
As first in our industry to intro-
duce Six Sigma companywide,
we’ve selected and trained 125
of our most energetic,
motivated employees. We’ve
transformed them into “Black
Belt” process-improvement
experts. As I write, they’re
already generating savings by
honing our business processes
and bringing the benefits of
quality to our bottom line.
At Dominion Exploration
& Production, for example,
Black Belt Tim Henry led a
team that identified how to
reduce idle standby time for
workboats assisting offshore
drilling operations. We expect to
chop 70 percent off the standby
time, on average, and generate
$1 million in annual savings.
At Dominion Delivery, Black
Belt John Anthony led a team
that improved our ground-patrol
strategy for electric transmission
lines. We’ve improved our
coverage and saved more than
$400,000 in costs.
Six Sigma is expected to
play a critical role in helping
our company meet its earnings
targets.
A critical advantage in the increasingly
competitive energy marketplace is our
ability to generate energy at low cost.
Dominion Energy’s North Anna Station
has often been rated as the nation’s
most efficient producer.
Dominion Virginia Power’s lineman,
Ray Hooper, connects a new customer to
our growing electric distribution system.
Despite the slower economy last year,
Virginia and North Carolina continued to
grow and we added new customers.