RICHMOND, Va., and CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Dominion (NYSE: D) and Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) said today that the
companies are pleased that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has
given final approval to the Greenbrier Pipeline Project. Dominion owns 67
percent of the pipeline partnership, Piedmont Natural Gas 33 percent.
Thomas E. Skains, President and CEO of Charlotte-based Piedmont Natural
Gas, commented that, "The FERC is to be applauded for the speed and efficiency
afforded all parties that have benefited by its new pre-filing process, for
which the Greenbrier Pipeline project was the first applicant. We are also
very pleased that this FERC-expedited project will be able to provide
additional supply diversity to serve the growing energy needs of the region."
Thos. E. Capps, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
Dominion, said, "As part of FERC's innovative pre-filing process, we conducted
nearly 30 community meetings along the pipeline route. When affected parties
became involved in the siting process in its earliest stages, issues and
concerns could be addressed and resolved. As we prepare for the construction
phase of the project, we will continue to work closely with FERC and with
residents and landowners to develop a partnership that will benefit the
region."
Both companies credited the pre-filing process for the early issuance of a
certificate, less than a year from the application submission in July 2002.
FERC issued a preliminary determination in late October after reviewing
Greenbrier's market studies, proposed FERC Tariff and rate design. In its
determination, FERC said the Greenbrier Pipeline should continue to go
forward, pending the outcome of environmental reviews. Those reviews resulted
in the release of a draft environmental impact statement in October and the
final environmental impact statement in late February.
The Greenbrier Pipeline would be a 280-mile, $497-million project. It
would originate in Kanawha County, W.Va., and extend southeast to Granville
County, N.C. The planned route has been mapped by the partnership during more
than two years of meetings with local governments, landowners, customers and
other stakeholders.
The pipeline is expected to enter service in mid-2005 with capacity to
move more than 580 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. It will operate
as Greenbrier Pipeline Company, LLC.
The pipeline will be designed, constructed and operated by Dominion
Transmission Inc. The proposed route through West Virginia, Virginia and
North Carolina includes two new compressor stations - the Elk River Station in
Kanawha County, W.Va., and the Eden Station in Rockingham County, N.C.
Detailed route maps can be viewed on Dominion's Web site (http://www.dom.com, keyword
Greenbrier).
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a
diversified and integrated energy portfolio consisting of 24,000 megawatts of
generation, 6.1 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves,
7,900 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and more than 960 billion
cubic feet of storage capacity. Dominion also serves 5 million retail energy
customers in nine states. In addition, Dominion owns a managing equity
interest in Dominion Fiber Ventures LLC, owner of Dominion Telecom. For more
information about Dominion, visit the company's web site at http://www.dom.com.
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in
the distribution of natural gas to 740,000 residential, commercial and
industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The
Charlotte-based company is the second-largest natural gas utility in the
Southeast. Piedmont is also invested in a number of non-utility, energy-
related businesses including companies involved in unregulated retail natural
gas and propane marketing, and interstate and intrastate natural gas storage
and transportation. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available
on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com.
SOURCE Dominion; Piedmont Natural Gas
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Related links:
http://www.dom.com
http://www.piedmontng.com
CONTACT:
Robert Fulton, +1-304-627-3200 or
+1-412-690-1370 for Dominion; or Steve Conner, +1-704-731-4205
for Piedmont
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