Company would also assume responsibility for lines between curb and meter
CLEVELAND, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dominion East Ohio has
filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)
seeking approval to implement a major natural gas pipeline replacement
program. The proposed 25-year program is designed to replace nearly 20 per
cent of the company's 21,000-mile pipeline system.
Dominion also wants to assume responsibility for the service lines that
run from the curb to the customer's meter. Customers currently own those
service lines and are responsible for the cost for any needed repairs or
replacement.
"A focused and prioritized replacement of approximately 4,100 miles of
Dominion's system is needed to ensure continued safe and reliable natural
gas service to customers in the future," said Bruce C. Klink, president,
Dominion East Ohio. "The pipelines recommended for replacement are older
pipelines that are either cast- or wrought-iron or bare steel pipelines
that do not have the coating or corrosion protection used today."
The total cost of the program is expected to exceed $2.6 billion in
2007 dollars. If approved, Dominion estimates that the additional cost to
residential customers will be $1.12 per month beginning in November 2009.
Thereafter there would be annual adjustments of no more than $0.90 per
month. The program would result in approximately a 1 percent increase in
annual bills. The cost to customers would be spread out over many decades
because of the 25-year time frame of the replacement program and accounting
that spreads those costs over an expected service life that lasts many
decades.
Under its proposal, Dominion would become responsible for installing
new service lines and for repairing or replacing existing service lines if
they are found to be leaking. Those costs would be accumulated with the
other costs of the pipeline replacement program and included in a monthly
charge spread among all customers beginning late next year.
Many natural gas utilities throughout the country are implementing
similar programs. The PUCO has approved an accelerated mainline replacement
program at Duke Energy Ohio in Cincinnati that shares many of the same
features proposed by Dominion. Among the benefits cited by the PUCO in a
recent review of that program are the improvement in pipeline safety and a
reduction in the cost of repairing leaks on the system. Like the Duke
Energy Ohio program, Dominion will reduce the replacement program costs to
be recovered by any savings from fewer leak repairs.
Dominion is asking the PUCO to consolidate the pipeline infrastructure
replacement program with the company's current rate case application to
give the PUCO and other parties an opportunity to consider the two filings
together.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of
energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation,
14,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline,
6,000 miles of electric transmission lines and 1.1Tcfe of proved natural
gas and oil reserves. Dominion also owns the nation's largest underground
natural gas storage system and operates more than 975 billion cubic feet of
storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more
information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at
http://www.dom.com/.
SOURCE Dominion East Ohio
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http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203456.html / (D)
CONTACT:
Tracy Oliver, +1-216-736-6219, or Jeff
Zidonis, +1-216-736-6228, or Neil Durbin, +1-216-736-6239, all of
Dominion East Ohio
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