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Pennsylvania PUC Approves Dominion Resources/Consolidated Natural Gas Merger

               Approval Includes Agreement to Offer Electricity
          In Western Pennsylvania, Freeze Peoples Natural Gas Rates

    RICHMOND, Va., and PITTSBURGH, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved the merger of Dominion
Resources, Inc., (NYSE: D) and Consolidated Natural Gas Company (NYSE: CNG),
the companies announced.
    Thos. E. Capps, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
Dominion Resources, and George A. Davidson, Jr., chairman and chief executive
officer of Consolidated, said in a joint statement:

    "This is an important milestone in our plans to create America's premier
electric and natural gas company.  It is also an important milestone for
Pennsylvania, because the combined company will help bring the benefits of
increased competition to the deregulated electric and natural gas markets of
the Commonwealth.  We commend PUC Chairman John Quain and the other
commission members for their leadership in opening Pennsylvania's energy
markets and for their prompt action in approving our merger."

    Pennsylvania, which is home to CNG and its Peoples Natural Gas Company
utility, is the first state to approve the merger.  Applications are pending
in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, as well as with several federal
agencies.
    "We remain on track to receive all necessary approvals and close the
merger by the end of the year," Capps and Davidson said.
    As part of the approval process, the companies reached a significant
agreement with the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate that will benefit
consumers.  As part of the agreement, after the merger is completed Dominion
and CNG will:

    -- Offer electricity under Pennsylvania's "Electric Choice" program to
        eligible residential customers in the 16 western Pennsylvania counties
        served by Peoples Natural Gas.  This includes the service areas of
        Duquesne Light, Allegheny Power, Penelec and Penn Power.
    -- Freeze base rates of Peoples Gas until at least 2003.

    "This agreement clearly spells out the kinds of benefits we foresee for
customers in the communities we now serve and the communities we will serve in
the future," Capps and Davidson said.
    (This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
various risks and uncertainties.  Discussions of factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from managements' projections, forecasts,
estimates and expectations are contained in the Companies' Securities &
Exchange Commission filings.)

    CNG's recent news releases are available 24 hours a day on the Internet,
by fax machine, or by voice recording.  On the Internet, use CNG's Web site:
http://www.cng.com  For faxing, call 1-800-758-5804 on a touch-tone phone and enter
CNG's company extension, which is 203456.  From a menu, you will then be able
to select releases that will be faxed to you immediately without charge.  For
voice recordings, call 1-888-CNG-NEWS.  This line is toll-free.


SOURCE Consolidated Natural Gas Company




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CONTACT:
Media, Mark Lazenby of Dominion Resources,
804-819-2042, or Chet Wade of Consolidated Natural Gas,
412-690-1361, or Analysts, Tom Wohlfarth of Dominion Resources,
804-819-2150, or Jim Garrett of Consolidated Natural Gas,
412-690-1485