Dominion Power 2014 Annual Report Download - page 16

DOMINION RESOURCES, INC.
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Blue Racer Midstream
The joint venture plans to increase processing capacity by
400 million cubic feet of gas per day (a 67 percent increase) and
fractionation—separating the NGL into their component parts—
by 77,000 barrels of NGL (a 167 percent increase) by the end of
2015. Overall, Blue Racer’s facilities could have the capability of
processing more than 10 percent of the Utica region’s wet gas by
the end of 2015. Dominion expects to contribute its 50 percent
ownership interest in Blue Racer into Dominion Midstream from
2016 to 2018.
Brunswick County Power Station
Located in southeastern Virginia, this $1.2 billion, 1,358-megawatt
gas-fired facility is more than half complete. We anticipate that
Brunswick will begin providing power to nearly 340,000 homes
in mid-2016. In early 2015, we announced plans to build a
20-megawatt solar facility adjacent to our Remington power station.
By 2020, Dominion expects to bring online 400 megawatts of solar
generating capacity in Virginia. Subject to winning a competitive
bid process, we also plan to file with the Virginia State Corporation
Commission (SCC) for an additional, large gas-fired plant in 2015.
Dominion Virginia Power is also considering additional investments
in carbon-free nuclear and offshore wind generation.
To improve reliability at Dominion’s electric and gas utilities,
the company’s plans include:
Electric Transmission
Over the next six years, we intend to spend $4.4 billion to improve
transmission reliability throughout growth projects. This includes
the systematic rebuild of our electric utility’s 500-kilovolt loop
that serves as the system’s backbone, and $450 million for
critical substation security. The latter investment includes taller
fences, enhanced cameras, sound tracking and other physical
security measures.
Dominion Virginia Power Undergrounding Initiative
The decade-long program to place underground approximately
4,000 miles of the utility’s most outage-prone distribution lines—
about 7 percent of the 57,100-mile system—began in 2014. While
undergrounding should not be viewed as a cure-all for power
outages, it is expected to substantially increase system reliability.
Dominion Virginia Power is authorized by law to spend and
recover in rates up to $175 million per year on the program.
Dominion East Ohio Pipeline Infrastructure Replacement Program
In 2008, our local natural gas distribution company serving
1.2 million customer accounts in Ohio began replacing bare steel,
cast iron, wrought iron and copper pipe. Over the next 20 years,
we plan to spend at least $160 million annually—also recovered in
customer rates—to both replace aging pipes and reduce methane
emissions into the air.
Dominion is in the midst of the largest infrastructure growth cycle
in the company’s long history. Our track record has demonstrated
our ability to continue serving the demands of our customers
and supporting the growth and reliability of our nation’s energy
infrastructure. I can say this with confidence because of the
service ethic of Dominion employees.
Doing It Right: Superheroes in the Shadows
Our people are the superheroes in the shadows who sometimes
do extraordinary things to keep the lights on and the gas flowing.
We know we are doing our jobs when our customers get instant
energy from flipping a light switch or turning a thermostat to fire
the furnace.
Our employees care for their communities. Each year, our
employee volunteers throughout Dominion’s vast footprint
contribute more than 100,000 hours of their time to causes in
which they believe. For instance, workers at the Millstone Power
Station in Waterford, Conn., have mentored local students for
15 years. Rod Jennings, a facility maintenance mechanic in
Clarksburg, W.Va., has worked as a search-and-rescue volunteer
for the West Virginia Civil Air Patrol since 1980. Sisters Pam
Burrous and Penny Bloom, both gas transmission operations
supervisors in Pennsylvania, donate their time as certified
emergency medical technicians and rescue divers.