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Headquarters:
120 Tredegar St. Website: http://www.dom.com Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy. The company's asset portfolio consists of about 28,100 megawatts of power generation, 6,000 miles of electric transmission, about 6 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves, 7,900 miles of natural gas pipeline and the nation's largest natural gas storage system, with more than 965 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. Dominion also serves five million retail energy customers in nine states. The company provides power in primarily five states: North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. In 2004, Dominion reported revenues of $13.9 billion and net income of $1.2 billion. History Two of the founders of Dominion Resources' predecessor were George Washington and James Madison. In 1781 the Virginia General Assembly established the Appomattox Trustees to promote navigation on the Appomattox River. In 1795, the trustees (including Washington and Madison) formed the Upper Appomattox Company canal operation to secure water rights to the river. The company took over several hydroelectric stations on the river and added a steam power facility in 1888. Frank Jay Gould bought a successor company in 1909 through his Virginia Railway and Power Company (VR&P). The firm purchased several electric streetcar lines and electric and gas utilities the following year. VR&P was acquired by New York engineering firm Stone & Webster in 1925. Stone and Webster placed it under a new holding company, Engineers Public Service (EPS). VR&P's name was changed to Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), and the firm bought several utilities in North Carolina. During the 1930s the automobile and the Depression put the company's trolley lines out of business. In 1940 the government sued EPS under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. This in effect triggered an era of regulated utility monopolies. EPS was forced to divest itself of everything but VEPCO. However, VEPCO soon doubled its service territory by merging with the Virginia Public Service Company. The number of electric customers increased
by about half from 1950 to 1957, so the company added new stations
to keep up with demand. It also built the world's first extra-high-voltage
transmission system. In 1980, company President William Berry became an early proponent of electric competition. The company redefined its corporate identity and image, and began using the names Virginia Power and North Carolina Power. Then in 1983 Berry formed Dominion Resources with Virginia Power as a subsidiary, then halted nearly all station construction to emphasize transmission. Two years later Dominion Capital was formed; Dominion Energy followed in 1987. Thos. E. Capps took over as CEO in 1990, and Dominion sold its natural gas distribution operations. Dominion Energy formed joint ventures to develop natural gas reserves. The firm bought three natural gas companies in 1995, and the next year Dominion joined with Chesapeake Paper Products to build a cogeneration facility. On August 28, 2000, the company began doing business solely under the name "Dominion." The decision to change the company's business name followed Dominion's merger with Consolidated Natural Gas Co. of Pittsburgh and an extensive branding analysis that showed significant benefits related to the use of the Dominion brand. In Sept. 2000, Dominion's electric and natural gas companies began using new names for their delivery, transmission and customer service operations. Virginia Power does business as Dominion Virginia Power, and North Carolina Power does business as Dominion North Carolina Power. On the gas side, The East Ohio Gas Co. does business as Dominion East Ohio, The Peoples Natural Gas Co. as Dominion Peoples, and Hope Gas Inc. as Dominion Hope. Benefits - Annual incentive opportunity Updated November 21, 2005 |