Dominion Power 2007 Annual Report Download - page 15

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Dominion 2007 Annual Report 13
be issued in 2008 is expected to be
through our dividend reinvestment
and direct stock purchase programs.
In 2009 and 2010 look for us to con-
duct small, frequent share issuances
to fund specific, accretive and
approved projects, augmented by our
ongoing dividend reinvestment
and direct stock purchase programs.
We also will issue new debt,
borrowing made less costly by S&P’s
upgrade last year.
IMPROVING RETURNS ON
INVESTED CAPITAL
We set stringent targets for our
returns on invested capital (ROIC).
In 2007 we achieved a total ROIC
of about 7.8 percent,* beating the
previous year’s ROIC of about 7.4
percent.* This increase might seem
small to some. But to a company
with an asset base as large as ours, the
increase is a significant achievement.
Businesses, assets or projects not
meeting our ROIC requirements
will be improved. In some instances
they may be offered for sale.
For example, we completed the
sale last year of three natural gas-fired
peaking units and one partially
built gas-fired generation facility. We
used the combined proceeds to
reduce debt. We continue to seek
buyers for our Dominion Peoples
and Dominion Hope gas distribution
companies.
Living Our Core Values
& Giving Back to Our
Communities
It is easy to forget how hard
Dominion employees work to sustain
a consistent and reliable record of
service. Everybody takes electricity
and natural gas service for granted, it
seems, until the power goes out or
the furnace turns cold. We have a
long-standing history of public serv-
ice, safety and operating excellence,
and a commitment to giving back to
our communities.
DOMINION’SLONG-STANDING
HISTORY OF OPERATING
EXCELLENCE
For years my predecessors and I have
reminded you how investors and
consumers have benefited from the
company’s record of plant perform-
ance. We operate nuclear units that
are among the nation’s best in stan-
dard industry surveys. Our facilities
fired by fossil fuels and our hydro-
electric generation also consistently
exceed industry standards.
Safety has been and always will be
our No. 1 priority. Safety is a core
value. Overall, our safety perform-
ance has improved significantly in
recent years. However, when three
employees died in late 2007 from
steam burns suffered in an accident
at one of our power stations, the loss
rippled throughout the company.
These deaths are pointed and painful
reminders of the reasons that we
place so much emphasis on
awareness, prevention and training.
We believe that one injury is too
many, so we are continually striving
to work smarter and do better.
Consider these positive accomplish-
ments in 2007:
•The Kewaunee Power Station
in Wisconsin had no U.S.
Occupational and Health
Administration (OSHA) record-
able incidents. This marked
a dramatic improvement from
previous years.
•Kewaunee joined the rest of the
Dominion nuclear fleet in becom-
ing OSHA Voluntary Protection
Program Star certified, and
Millstone was re-certified.
Dominion’s nuclear fleet is the
only one in the nation in which
all stations are certified.
This safety record supports our
goal of reliably serving our millions
of customers:
•Millstone Unit 2 and Surry Unit 2
had no forced outages and had been
on line, respectively, for 469 and
468 consecutive days by the time we
went to press.
SAFETY HAS BEEN AND
ALWAYS WILL BE OUR
NO. 1 PRIORITY. SAFETY IS
A CORE VALUE.
* Based on non-GAAP financial measures.
See page 27 for GAAP reconciliations.