Dominion Signs Contract With GE Energy For
Long-Lead Nuclear Components
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion
(NYSE: D), one of the nation’s largest energy companies, announced Tuesday
that it has signed a contract with GE Energy to secure components for a possible
new nuclear-powered electric generating unit.
Under terms of the contract, which
are confidential, GE Energy would provide certain critical, "long-lead" components
such as large forgings and other nuclear and turbine island parts based on
GE’s ESBWR design.
While no decision has been made to build a new nuclear
unit, Dominion is seeking an early site permit for a new reactor at its North
Anna Power Station site in Mineral, Va. It has announced that it would
file for a Combined Operating License (COL) for the unit later this year. North
Anna currently has two, 910-megawatt nuclear units generating enough electricity
for about 455,000 homes at peak demand.
"This is a sound business decision
for us," said Mark F. McGettrick,
president and chief executive officer of Dominion Generation, the unit of Dominion
that operates its power stations. "With this contract we have
reserved large, critical components at a time when others are also considering
building new units. We believe the market for these components will be
tight in the near future, so getting to the head of the line makes good sense."
Dominion
applied for the early site permit in 2003. The Atomic Safety
Licensing Board heard testimony on the application last week in Louisa County,
Va., which is home to North Anna. Dominion expects the NRC to render
a decision on the early site permit request by the end of 2007.
Dominion is
one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of more than
26,300 megawatts of generation, about 6.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent of
proved natural gas reserves and 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline.
Dominion also owns and operates the nation's largest underground natural gas
storage system with about 960 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.
