Dominion Power 2012 Annual Report Download - page 12

Dominion Resources 2012 Summary Annual Report14
development and strengthening the
state’s economy.
Late in 2012, we began working with
the General Assembly and the Attorney
General’s office to make the regulatory
construct even better, notably collaborating
for clarity on regulatory accounting and
the earnings band on authorized returns,
and elimination of incentive adders for
conventional coal and gas generation.
These improvements became law in
February 2013.
Growing in Shale Regions
At Dominion East Ohio, we expect to
spend about $160 million per year over
the next five years to replace bare and
ineffectively coated steel transmission,
storage and distribution pipelines— a
total projected investment of about
$2.7 billion for the 25-year program.
The Blue Racer Midstream joint venture
will develop and construct new gathering
and processing in the Utica region. Assets
to be contributed by Dominion include
some of East Ohio’s wet gathering system
and the new Natrium processing and
fractionation plant.
Three projects under development—Tioga
Area Expansion, Allegheny Storage
and Sabinsville to Morrisville— support
moving natural gas to market. The
projects, which cost about $200 million,
are anticipated to serve customers
beginning in 2013 and 2014 and increase
pipeline capacity by nearly 500,000
dekatherms per day in, and add 7.5 billion
cubic feet of storage to, the Dominion
Transmission system.
Progress on Cove Point LNG Terminal
We firmly believe that incorporating
liquefaction and export capability to our
Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG)
import terminal located on the Chesapeake
Bay in Lusby, Md., can be beneficial both
to you, our shareholders, and to gas
producers operating in the Eastern half
of the U.S.
A built-in advantage: Dominion’s
proposal to add liquefaction at Cove
Point ranks as the only non-greenfield
development on the East Coast, in close
proximity to gas-rich Appalachian deposits.
And Cove Point already has a pier capable
of accommodating super-tankers.
We are optimistic that, after a
Department of Energy (DOE) study found
substantial economic benefits of LNG
exports for the entire nation, the DOE
will move to approve our permit appli-
cation to export LNG to non-free trade
agreement nations such as Japan.
Should we receive all necessary approvals,
we aim to begin construction on the more
than $3 billion facility in 2014, with the
projected in-service date in 2017.
A Focus on Innovation
Innovation will play a role as Dominion moves
forward to serve its customers— and even
other utilities.
Early in 2012, your company announced
the availability of the EDGE Grid Side
Efficiency solution for utilities. The product,
which enables utilities to deploy incremental
grid-side energy management and voltage
controls requiring no behavioral changes or
purchases of equipment by end customers,
is being marketed with Lockheed Martin,
Elster, Landis+Gyr and Silver Spring
Networks. In December 2012, the Central
Lincoln Utility People’s District, a leading
Oregon utility, signed an agreement to use
this voltage management software.
Along with efficiency, development of
alternative energy to reduce the amount of
emissions per megawatt-hour of electricity
produced— known as emissions inten-
sity— is a priority. In December 2012, the
company announced that it would develop
a 14.9-megawatt fuel cell power facility
in Bridgeport, Conn. It would be North
America’s largest. The facility would enter
service in late 2013 and its output would
be part of a 15-year power purchase agree-
ment with Connecticut Light & Power.
Commitment to
Community
Our philanthropic mission is to improve
the social, physical and economic
well-being of the communities we serve.
Dominion’s 2012 highlights include:
•130,000 hours of volunteerism.
•$21.3 million to charitable
organizations in 14 states.
•$4.5 million in EnergyShare funds,
helping 20,682 families.
•$425,000 to food banks in 12 states
and Washington, D.C.
•$1 million to 34 colleges in seven
states for workforce development.