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Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
to parts of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Dominion also has generation facilities in Indiana, Illinois, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The company acquired Questar Corporation in the Western United States, including parts of Utah and Wyoming, in September 2016. In January 2019, Dominion Energy completed its acquisition of
SCANA Corporation SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disrep ...
.


Overview

The company's asset portfolio includes 27,000 megawatts of power generation, of electric transmission lines, of distribution lines, of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and equivalent of natural gas and oil reserves. Dominion also operates the nation's largest natural gas storage facility, amounting to more than of storage capacity. The company's Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
is one of the nation's largest and busiest facilities of its kind. Dominion serves more than 5 million retail energy customers in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the U.S. In 2017, Dominion was listed at #238 on the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
. A book about the company's 100-year history, ''Dominion’s First Century: A Legacy of Service'', was published in 2010.


Generation statistics

In 2015, 18 percent of Dominion's total electric production came from
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...
, 22 percent from nuclear power, 32 percent from
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
, 9 percent from
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, 12 percent from Hydro and other renewables, and 7 percent from other sources. A strategy is being developed for renewable energy sources, primarily wind and biomass, and conservation and
efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...
programs to play an increasingly important role in meeting future energy needs and minimizing the company's environmental footprint.


History

Dominion's corporate roots reach back to the Colonial era through predecessor companies that operated canal and river barging, street lighting, railways, and electric trolleys. In 1787, the Virginia General Assembly created the Appomattox Trustees to promote navigation along the
Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...
. In 1795, the trustees formed the Upper Appomattox Company to build dams along the river for industrial use, beginning Dominion's history. In 1901, the water rights passed to the newly formed Virginia Passenger & Power Company. Dominion's closest direct corporate ancestor, Virginia Railway & Power Company, was founded by
Frank Jay Gould Frank Jay Gould (December 4, 1877 – April 1, 1956) was a philanthropist and the son of financier Jay Gould. He was the owner of French Riviera casinos and hotels. Biography He was born on December 4, 1877, in Manhattan, New York City to J ...
on June 29, 1909. It bought Virginia Passenger & Power soon afterward. In 1925, the name was changed to the Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), a regulated monopoly. In 1940, VEPCO doubled its service territory by merging with the Virginia Public Service Company. The transit operations were sold in 1944. In 1980, VEPCO began branding itself as "Virginia Power," while branding its North Carolina operations as "North Carolina Power." Three years later, VEPCO reorganized as a holding company, Dominion Resources. By 1985, Dominion split its distribution operations among three operating companies: Virginia Power, North Carolina Power, and West Virginia Power. In 1986, Dominion gained territory by expanding in Northern Virginia after purchasing the Virginia distribution territory of
Potomac Electric Power Company The Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) is an American utility company that supplies electric power to the city of Washington, D.C. and to surrounding communities in Maryland. It is owned by Exelon. The company's current trademarked slogan i ...
(PEPCO). In 1987, the West Virginia Power division was later sold to
Utilicorp United Aquila, Inc. was an electricity and natural gas distribution network headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. The company also owned and operated power generation assets. It previously operated under the name UtiliCorp Unite ...
, but Dominion retained ownership of the Mount Storm Power Station in West Virginia. (In 1999, West Virginia Power would be sold to
Allegheny Energy Allegheny Energy was an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owned and operated electric generation facilities and delivered electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Allegh ...
and folded into its Monongahela Power subsidiary; it and other Allegheny Energy subsidiaries have since been acquired in 2010 by FirstEnergy.) Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dominion initiated a series of expansions into regulated and non-regulated energy businesses, both domestically and internationally. During that era, the company also established itself as a world-class operator of
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
s. In 2000, Dominion bought Consolidated Natural Gas Company (CNG) of Pittsburgh, and added natural gas service to its energy delivery network in the energy-intensive markets in the Northeastern quadrant of the U.S. In 2001, Dominion bought Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Company, adding to its natural gas delivery network. Dominion re-branded all of its operations in 2000 to Dominion from Virginia and North Carolina Power as well as Consolidated Gas in order to create a more unified energy company. In 2007, as part of another effort to refocus on core electric and gas operations, Dominion sold most of its Houston-based natural gas and oil exploration and production business for pre-tax proceeds of nearly $14 billion. Its onshore US oil and gas reserves were sold in separate deals to
Loews Corporation Loews Corporation is an American conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company's majority-stake holdings include CNA Financial Corporation, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, Loews Hotels and Altium Packaging. ...
and to
XTO Energy XTO Energy Inc. is an American energy company and subsidiary of ExxonMobil principally operating in North America. Acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010 and based out of Spring, Texas, it is involved with the production, processing, transportation, and ...
, while its Gulf of Mexico reserves were sold to
Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...
, and its Canadian reserves were sold to two Canadian trusts. Dominion still retains some production areas in
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...
, however. In February 2016, Dominion Resources announced that they would be acquiring Questar Corporation. The acquisition was completed in September 2016. In 2017, Dominion Resources rebranded itself to Dominion Energy, following with a new logo. In January 2018, Reuters reported that Dominion Energy would be buying
SCANA Corporation SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disrep ...
for $7.9 billion.; the acquisition was completed in January 2019. In the summer of 2018, Dominion Energy launched a "grid transformation program." The program's aim was to build 3,000 megawatts worth of new solar and wind energy by the year 2022. The program was launched under the authority of the Grid Transformation & Security Act, a state law signed by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. "The law paves the way for expanded investments in renewable energy, smart grid technology, a stronger, more secure grid and energy efficiency programs . . ." In July 2020, Dominion announced plants to sell natural gas transmission and storage assets to
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiums ...
; the size of the deal is estimated at $10 billion.


Operations

Dominion has three operating businesses:


Dominion Generation

Dominion generates electricity for both regulated sale in its Virginia and North Carolina markets, and also for wholesale in other markets in the Northeast and Midwest United States. Electricity generation is the largest unit of Dominion.


Dominion Virginia and North Carolina Power

Dominion is a regulated electric utility that transmits, and distributes electricity from its power plants in Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, and West Virginia to customers.


Dominion Energy

:*Natural gas distribution :*Natural gas transmission and storage :*Producer services :*Solar Funding - Tredegar Solar Fund I, LLC


Dominion Exploration and Production

Dominion Exploration and Production was the
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
and
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
exploration and production subsidiary of Dominion, and by 2007 was one of the largest independent natural gas and oil operators. During 2007, Dominion sold the majority of its oil and natural gas exploration and production assets to put additional focus on growing its electric generation and energy distribution, transmission, storage and retail businesses mainly in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.


Expansion plans

Dominion was a partner in a joint venture that planned to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline to run between West Virginia and North Carolina. Though the project had faced stiff opposition from environmental and community heritage groups along its route, ground was broken on the pipeline in Lewis County, West Virginia, in May 2018. Dominion and
Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overview Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation i ...
canceled the pipeline in July 2020, citing cost increases due to lawsuits, largely from environmental groups opposed to the project.


Political activities

The Dominion Political Action Committee (PAC) has been very active in donating to Virginia candidates. In 2009, the Dominion PAC donated a total of $814,885 with 56% going to Republicans and 41% to Democrats. In 2008, the PAC donated $539,038 with 50% going to Republicans and 47% to Democrats. In the 2016 election cycle, the PAC contributed $1,276,016.17 to various political candidates and committees. Lobbyists for Dominion worked to pass West Virginia's Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, a 2021 law creating
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities, which was described by its sponsor John Kelly as having been "requested by the natural gas industry".


Charitable contributions

Dominion's social investment program is carried out primarily through the Dominion Foundation, which gives about $20 million each year to charities in the states in which Dominion does business. Dominion also has the Benjamin J. Lambert, III, Volunteer of the Year Program. 2017 was the thirty-third year of the program recognizing top company volunteers. Dominion honors the volunteers by paying $1000 to the charity of the individual's choice. In 2016, twelve employees from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia were selected. In 2020, Dominion responded to the coronavirus pandemic by stopping service disconnects for non-payment and helping customers who had been disconnected for not making payments to reconnect to its service. It is also waiving late and reconnection fees. The company has also directed its charitable foundation to provide $1 million in aid to help individuals and organizations fighting COVID-19. The $1 million will be offered to national groups like the American Red Cross and local organizations the company identifies.


Controversies


High voltage lines

A number of controversies have surrounded the company's decisions to develop new routes for its
electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
lines. On February 13, 2007, '' The Washington Post'' reported that the power company was planning to change the route of one 500 kV transmission line to appease critics in Northern Virginia from a route that would cut through protected forest and
farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used f ...
land to a southern route that would bypass nature preserves and
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
sites by running adjacent to existing power lines. However, U.S. Congressional Representative Frank Wolf ( R - VA) and Governor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
( D) remained opposed to the line, saying that there was no real need, and that Dominion was trying to bring cheap electricity from the Midwest. Dominion contested, saying that the line would bring needed electricity to growing Northern Virginia. The proposal was accepted by the
State Corporation Commission The State Corporation Commission, or SCC, is a Virginia (USA) regulatory agency whose authority encompasses utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads. It is the state's central filin ...
(SCC) on October 7, 2008. On February 15, 2008, the SCC approved a controversial proposal for a 230 kV Dominion Virginia transmission line that would travel above ground for along a
wooded A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
portion of the
Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a linear regional park in Northern Virginia. The park's primary feature is the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail (abbreviated as W&OD Trail), an asphalt-surfaced paved rail trai ...
between Leesburg and Clarks Gap in
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...
, which Dominion again claimed was necessary for power reliability. Less than three weeks later, on March 4 and March 5, 2008, the Senate and the House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed emergency legislation that ordered the SCC to approve the underground construction of the line along that section of the trail as part of a four-part statewide
pilot program A pilot study, pilot project, pilot test, or pilot experiment is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pr ...
for the development of underground transmission lines. Sponsored by Delegate Joe T. May ( R -
Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses th ...
), the legislation exempted the project from any requirements for further SCC analyses relating to the impacts of the route, including environmental impacts and impacts upon historical resources. The legislation went into effect when
Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes the ...
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
approved it on April 2, 2008.


Wise County power plant

The company began constructing a 605 MWe
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...
fired
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
in Wise County, Virginia in June 2008. , the construction had reached the halfway point, with the plant scheduled to be fully operational in mid-2012. Dominion calls the plant the "
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center The Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) is a power station located in St. Paul, in Wise County, Virginia. It is operated by Dominion Energy, Dominion Virginia Power, Dominion Resources Inc.'s electric distribution company in Virginia. The 6 ...
," which has been criticized by environmentalists as a way to make the plant sound environmentally friendly. The plant does however have the most stringent air permit for any coal fired power plant in the nation currently. The plant will burn up to 20% biomass along with coal and a small amount of
waste coal Coal refuse (also described as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob) is the material left over from coal mining, usually as tailings piles or spoil tips. For every tonne of hard coal generated by mi ...
known as gob. The plant's carbon dioxide emissions are currently projected to be 5.4 million tons per year. High levels of mercury emitted from the plant, which is controlled by activated carbon injection to reduce the emissions, as well as a
fly ash Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash (in the UK) plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs)is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired ...
dump near the
Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
(a source of drinking water) are also of concern. The plant would also continue to support mountaintop removal coal mining. Supporters, including Governor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
, stated that as one of the largest importers of electricity, Virginia could become less dependent on importing electricity from other states with a new power plant. The plant brought 1000 workers to build, and will employ 130 full-time, as well as pay 4 to 7 million dollars of tax revenue yearly to economically depressed Wise County. In September 2008, the site was blockaded by activists from the
Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gras ...
.


Cove Point LNG import facility

In 2001 when Dominion's
Dominion Cove Point LNG Cove Point LNG Terminal is an offshore liquid natural gas shipping terminal operated by BHE GT&S, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy company. It is located near Lusby, Maryland, United States, on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and exports liq ...
subsidiary was scheduled to reopen, many local residents were concerned about the proximity (only 3 miles) to the
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) is a nuclear power plant located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay near Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is the only nuclear power plant in the state ...
, and the damage that could be caused by an attack or an explosion at the plant. Residents thought that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not consider the risks before opening the plant. In 2005,
Washington Gas WGL Holdings, Inc., is a public utility holding company that serves more than 1 million customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. A subsidiary of AltaGas, it provides natural gas, electricity, sustainable energy, carbon neutral ...
claimed that the
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
imported at the plant was too "hot," meaning that it contained fewer heavy
hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or e ...
and burned hotter. Washington Gas said that the hot gas caused problems for its customers and caused many of its mains to break. Dominion denied that the imported gas was the cause of the breaks and stated that expanding the area serviced by the imported gas would not cause additional leaks in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia suburbs.


Environmental record

In 2010, the Political Economy Research Institute ranked Dominion Resources 51st among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. Dominion's Toxic Score of 16,656 (pounds released x toxicity x population exposure) represents a significant improvement from both the 2008 report (Dominion ranked 27th with a Toxic Score of 58,642) and the 2005 report (Dominion ranked 19th with a Toxic Score of 117,712) In December 2007, a settlement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Dominion Energy of Brayton Point called for the company's power generating plant to install new closed cycle cooling towers that provided significant protection to aquatic organisms in
Mount Hope Bay Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is ...
, which flows into Narragansett Bay. The 2007 settlement resolved an ongoing dispute that began in 2003. The EPA issued a final discharge permit called a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the Brayton Point Power Station requiring significant reductions in thermal discharges to, and water intake from,
Mount Hope Bay Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is ...
. In 2002, Dominion was responsible for 1,110,703 pounds of gastrointestinal or liver toxicant emissions, 1,440,000 pounds of musculoskeletal toxicant emissions, and 1,489,763 pounds of suspected respiratory toxicant emissions, and 1,478,383 pounds of suspected skin or
sense organ A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
toxicant emissions among other emissions that are suspected to be hazardous.Environmental Releases for DOMINION RESOURCES INC. YORKTOWN POWER STATIONArchived
At July 4 2013 on the Wayback Machine


See also

*
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is an offshore wind energy project located about 43 km (27 mi) off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. The initial phase, a two-turbine, 12-MW pilot project constructed in 2020, is the ...


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies in the Dow Jones Utility Average Electric power companies of the United States Companies based in Richmond, Virginia Companies established in 1983 Natural gas companies of the United States Nuclear power companies of the United States Hydroelectric power companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Cleveland 1983 establishments in Virginia