Almost 80,000 Sign Up For Dominion's
Energy Choice Pilots
Programs To Boost Competition Exceed Volunteer
Expectations
RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Virginia Power residential
and business customers have been aggressively signing up for two new State Corporation
Commission-approved energy
choice pilot programs that are designed to save them money and boost competition
in Virginia.
As of Jan. 8, 77,491 customers — 69,317
residential, 8,104 businesses and 70 churches — have volunteered to be
part of a buying group selected to receive an offer from an alternative supplier
as part of the company's competitive bid supply service pilot. The majority
of the volunteers signed up within a 45-day period starting in late November.
"What this shows is clear, broad-based support
and a desire for energy choice among our Virginia customers," said David
F. Koogler, director of regulation and competition. "Consumers, both residential
and business, want and deserve choices for various goods and services and electricity
supply should be no different."
By region, the total number of residential and
business customer volunteers are:
Central/Western Virginia
20,984 residential
2,898 business
Eastern Virginia
22,727 residential
2,445 business
Northern Virginia
25,606 residential
2,761 business
Selected volunteers will be placed in a buying group with
about 14,000 other customers in their geographic area. The SCC will oversee
a competitive bid process to select the lowest cost supplier to provide electricity
to each group. The pilots will continue until July 1, 2007.
Another 1,970 larger, non-residential customers located throughout
the service area have volunteered to participate in the commercial and industrial
pilot. A December lottery determined the 201 participants in the pilot program.
Regardless of which company supplies the power, Dominion will
still deliver it to the customer and maintain wires, poles and equipment. Any
time during the pilot, customers can return to Dominion for electricity supply
service at their current rate, which is capped until July 1, 2007. Dominion
expects the program to provide valuable experience for customers, suppliers,
utilities and regulators as Virginia continues to develop a competitive electricity
marketplace.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of
energy with an energy portfolio of more than 24,000 megawatts of generation.
Dominion also serves 5.3 million retail energy customers in nine states. For
more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
