Dominion Energy

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    DOE Sec. Perry Attends Cove Point LNG Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

    Yesterday a bunch of dignitaries gathered in Lusby, Maryland to celebrate the launch of Dominion’s Cove Point LNG facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Yes, the facility has been up and running since April (see Cove Point LNG Ships First Marcellus Cargo to Japan). This was a well-deserved, back-slapping soiree, made all the more sweet for the obstacles Dominion had to overcome from antis when building the facility. Joining the celebration were officials from Japan and India (the countries buying all of the gas shipped from Cove Point), along with the top brass from Dominion. Special guest of honor was Dept. of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, there to deliver a message from his boss, Donald Trump. Perry said Trump is, “eager to unleash our bounty to the world” and that’s why President Trump is “so supportive of this infrastructure project right here in Cove Point.” Very very supportive. 😉 Here’s how it went down yesterday on the shore of the beautiful Chesapeake Bay…
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    FERC Greenlights Atlantic Coast Pipeline Construction in NC

    Despite intense opposition from nutty so-called environmentalists (i.e. fossil fuel haters), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued permission on Tuesday to Dominion Energy to commence construction of the 600-mile, $6 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline as it passes through North Carolina. Antis like those from the Southern Environmental Law Center are up in arms. Their strategy to stop the project is to attack it in small, specific areas. There is a pending lawsuit against the project using the Endangered Species Act, potentially blocking construction in certain geographies. If that lawsuit goes against the pipeline, it only affects construction in a small area and for a limited time. Yet Southern Environmental Law Center claims that if a pipeline project is stopped at any point along its route, that should trigger stopping the entire project at all points along the route. FERC isn’t buying into the legal bull and has cleared Dominion to start up the bulldozers. This pipeline will get built, despite the best efforts of antis. In fact, Dominion says it will be built and online by late 2019…
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    Nelson County, VA Refuses to Sell Water to Atlantic Coast Pipe

    Talk about obtuse–about cutting off your nose to spite your face. The dunderheads at the Nelson County Service Authority have just voted to turn down $3.5 million of revenue from Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) over the next two years. ACP wanted to buy water from the authority to use in underground horizontal directional drilling for the pipeline as it passes through the region. ACP would have paid half a million dollars for a hookup fee and a rate of 10 cents a gallon for the water. The five dunderheads on the board–three of them brand new in the past month–offered up all sorts of excuses to cover the fact they simply don’t want the pipeline. They don’t want to be seen “supporting” it. Makes for uncomfortable conversations at the local Five & Dime. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. ACP has said they already have an alternative source for the water and will simply truck it in. Congratulations to the Service Authority Board–you just made your community less safe and poorer. Less safe because now water truck after water truck will clog up the highways (running the risk of accidents), and poorer because you turned down $3.5 million you could have used to give a break in water fees to county residents…
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    PA DEP Seeks Comments on Pipe Project to Flow Marc Gas to Ohio

    You don’t often read about pipeline projects that seek to flow more Pennsylvania Marcellus gas into the Ohio Utica region. In January, Dominion Energy filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand capacity along the existing Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. (DETI) pipeline from Pennsylvania to Ohio (see Dominion Files FERC Request to Expand Pipeline from PA to OH). Why? To flow more gas that will be used to generate electricity for the Midwest market. The project, called the Sweden Valley Project, is projected to cost $48 million and add another 120 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of PA Marcellus Shale gas to the existing flow along DETI. Dominion says all 120 MMcf/d is already contracted and spoken for–by an unnamed customer. The project expands existing capacity by building a tiny three miles of new pipeline, with the new pipeline lying next to existing pipeline (in Greene County, PA). The only greenfield/brand new construction is a 1.75-mile pipeline to connect with the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Tuscarawas County, OH. The other main part of the project is updating three units a compressor station in Licking County, OH. In the constellation of pipeline projects that disturb earth and disrupt landowners, this one is pretty minor–yet it will deliver big results by flowing an extra 120 MMcf/d of gas west to a new market. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection published a notice in the July 21 PA Bulletin asking for comments on the project in PA–in Greene and Armstrong counties…
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    Otsego2000 Snobs Appeal FERC Approval of New Market Pipe Project

    There’s a small group of rich snobs who have created a mini-swamp in Cooperstown, NY. They go to each other’s wine tasting parties and pretend they’re Important People. Gentry class. Folks with lots of money who want to keep Upstate as their own private playground. You know…keep the poor folks away from your property, unless they’re mowing the lawn or weeding the garden. God forbid people like disgusting farmers should actually make money on drilling or pipelines. These are the type of people behind a group called Otsego2000. They just can’t accept the reality that their will is not being obeyed in blocking a VERY modest upgrade to an existing pipeline that runs through Upstate–called the New Market Project. Dominion’s New Market Project (currently under construction) consists of building two new compressor plants and upgrading another to help flow more abundant, cheap and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania into the northeast (see Dominion Asks FERC for New Compressors in Upstate NY, WV). The project costs $159 million and will provide 112,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of extra natural gas capacity along ~200 miles of existing Dominion pipeline across Upstate. The pipeline runs through the Horseheads, Ithaca, Syracuse and Albany areas. The snobs of Otsego2000 have just sued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in federal court to try and stop the project–even though not one of the compressor stations is located in Otsego County! Otsego2000 is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1981 “to protect the environmental, agricultural, scenic, cultural and historic resources of the Otsego Lake region and northern Otsego County.” As near as we can tell, the New Market Project doesn’t impact Otsego County at all. Yet Otsego2000 is fighting the project, with no legal standing to do so. Go figure…
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    Dominion Looking to Sell Gas-Fired Power Plants in PA, RI

    Dominion Energy, headquartered in Richmond, VA, is a large utility and pipeline company providing ~6 million customers in 19 states with natural gas and electricity. Dominion not only flows energy to customers, it also generates it. In 2016, Dominion brought online a brand new, 1,358 megawatt, natural gas-fired generating plant in Brunswick County, VA (see Dominion Brunswick NatGas-Fired Plant Begins Electric Generation). Dominion built and now operates the Cove Point LNG export facility, which began exporting Marcellus gas in April of this year (see First-Ever Shipment of Marcellus LNG Leaves Cove Point, Maryland). In other words, Dominion really digs natural gas. Yet the company is rumored to be shopping two of its natgas-fired generating plants, looking to make $1-$1.5 billion. One plant, the Fairless Power Station, is located in Bucks County, PA near Philadelphia. The other, Manchester Street Power Station, is located in the People’s Republic of Rhode Island. So why on earth would Dominion, a company that really digs natgas, want to dump two of its power generating plants situated in large, urban areas? It all has to do with regulation…
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    M-U Companies Collaborate with Eco Group on Pipeline Report

    Over the years the Nature Conservancy, whose mission is “to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends,” has put its support behind restrictive, anti-drilling measures. However, they’re not typically one of the Big Green groups that actively goes out of its way to block all fossil fuel extraction. They’re not as bad as the Sierra Club, or NRDC, or Earthworks. In what is perhaps a new chapter in cooperation with the industry (sure to get them tossed off the Christmas card list by other Big Green groups), the Nature Conservancy worked with eight of the largest pipeline companies in the U.S. (all but one with operations in the Marcellus/Utica) to produce a report titled, “Improving Steep-Slope Pipeline Construction to Reduce Impacts to Natural Resources” (full copy below). The report’s aim is to provide a list of best practice aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of natural gas pipeline construction. Particularly in areas prone to landslides. Working with Nature Conservancy on the report was Dominion Energy, Enbridge, EQT Midstream Partners, Kinder Morgan, NiSource, Southern Company Gas, UGI Energy Services and Williams–all of which have committed to adopting the guidelines put forth in the report. Notice that Nature Conservancy’s approach is not “never build another pipeline again”–as it is for most Big Green groups (including the ones we listed above). Instead, Nature Conservancy worked with pipeline companies to develop standards and practices that will protect the environment, while still allowing for pipeline construction. That is, they are being reasonable. Hats off to the Nature Conservancy for their efforts and reasonableness. Unfortunately for them, they are now sure to be ostracized by their Big Green brethren…
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    FERC Approves Dominion Energy/SCANA Merger – Deal Still Alive

    In January Dominion Energy announced a deal to buy out and merge in South Carolina-based SCANA Corporation (see Dominion Buys SCANA, Mulls Atlantic Coast Pipe Expansion into SC). SCANA is an energy-based holding company principally engaged, through subsidiaries, in electric and natural gas utility operations and other energy-related businesses. In other words, the local electric and gas company for much of South Carolina. Dominion is a big company with many operations–they are a pipeline company, an electric generating company, and a utility company (like SCANA). The merger makes sense. Dominion gets to grow and add more customers to its utility business, especially if they expand their now-under-construction Atlantic Coast Pipeline–flowing Marcellus/Utica gas–into South Carolina (see Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s Future Plans: Expand in NC & SC). But there was recently a big bump in the road. SCANA had started, and later abandoned, building a nuclear plant, costing ratepayers boatloads of money. In June, the SC legislature passed a bill (vetoed by the governor but overridden) lowering SCANA’s electric rates by 15%. Dominion threatened to cancel the merger (see Dominion Bid to Buy SCANA in Trouble Following Passage of SC Bill). But then the sun came out. Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission officially blessed the merger plan, and in announcing FERC’s approval, Dominion didn’t say a word about the 15% reduction or pulling out of the deal. All of that seems to now be forgotten. In fact, Dominion’s CEO told SC Gov. Henry McMaster that Dominion is not canceling buyout/merger plans, even with the bill…
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    Va. Supreme Court Upholds Pipeline Survey Law for 3rd Time

    In 2016 the Virginia Supreme Court accepted a case from an 83-year old granny who didn’t want surveyors working for Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline to enter her property to conduct a survey for a possible pipeline route (see A Supreme Court to Hear Atlantic Coast Pipe Survey Case). A 2004 Virginia law specifically allows surveyors to enter a property WITHOUT landowner permission, as long as the surveyors provide ample, advance notice of when they are coming. Granny’s case attempted to challenge and end that law. She failed. Last July the Supremes ruled against her (see Va. Supreme Court Rules Against Granny in Pipeline Survey Case). However, Dominion did get a slap on the wrist. The justices said notifications sent for when surveyors will arrive can no longer say the surveyors will arrive “on or after,” because “after” can mean years later. Instead, Dominion will have to give several potential, specific dates when surveyors will visit a property. Fair enough. Except yet another group of landowners sued attempting to overturn the same law–now for a third time. And this third case also ended up in state Supreme Court. Last Thursday the Supremes ruled 6-1 to uphold the existing law that grants pipelines permission to enter property with advance notice. Third time’s a charm?…
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    Enviro Radicals Target ACP with Same Strategy that Shut Down MVP

    Believing they have a winning court strategy that has (temporarily) stopped the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in West Virginia (see Sierra Club Succeeds in Delaying MVP Project in WV via Court Order), Sierra Club lawyers set about to try and stop MVP in Virginia too (see Enviro Radicals Target MVP in Va. Following WV Court “Win”). But hey, why stop there? The Clubbers are now attempting to use the SAME legal argument to stop Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) in WV, VA and NC. Their strategy was/is to bamboozle the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District into stopping construction at stream crossings (hundreds of them) by claiming the pipeline can’t complete required work at some of the crossings within the stated 72 hours called for in the original permit. Therefore, the court needs to reassess the umbrella permit issued for all crossings, stopping work at every single stream crossing–which effectively shuts down construction along the entire pipeline while judges dither around, go on summer vacation, then come back and dither some more before making a decision. The gajillion dollar question is, will the court fall for this sleazy legal trick again, and shut down ACP construction as they have MVP?…
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    Dominion Surrenders to Mt. Vernon – Relocating Compressor Station

    In October 2016, Dominion announced a new pipeline project called Eastern Market Access Project (see Dominion Announces $145M Project to Expand Gas Supply to DC & MD). The project will beef up two compressor stations in Virginia, build a new compressor station in Maryland, and add a couple of pipeline taps near Washington, D.C. The purpose of the $145 million project is to deliver more gas to Washington Gas (and its customers), and to deliver gas to a new gas-fired electric power plant being built in Maryland. A Dominion spokesman confirmed for MDN that the gas will come from either the Marcellus or Utica plays. The compressor station slated to get built in Maryland sits just across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon–the home and estate of our illustrious first president, George Washington. Mount Vernon is designated as a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. If you’ve ever visited, it has an incredible view. The folks operating Mount Vernon took exception to a compressor station junking up that incredible view. Dominion says you won’t be able to see the compressor station at all from Mount Vernon, but Dominion’s arguments fell on deaf ears. Last week Mount Vernon launched a very public campaign to stop the new Dominion compressor station from locating across the river. The campaign worked. Facing a PR nightmare, Dominion issued a statement saying they will work with Mount Vernon to find a new/different location for the compressor station, something acceptable to both sides…
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    Dominion Bid to Buy SCANA in Trouble Following Passage of SC Bill

    In January Dominion Energy announced a deal to buy out and merge in South Carolina-based SCANA Corporation (see Dominion Buys SCANA, Mulls Atlantic Coast Pipe Expansion into SC). SCANA is an energy-based holding company principally engaged, through subsidiaries, in electric and natural gas utility operations and other energy-related businesses. In other words, the local electric and gas company for much of South Carolina. Dominion is a big company with many operations–they are a pipeline company, an electric generating company, and a utility company (like SCANA). The merger makes sense. Dominion gets to grow and add more customers to its utility business. We didn’t think there was any tie-in with the Marcellus/Utica, but turns out there is. We brought you news in early December that Dominion and their partner in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project, Duke Energy, are considering expanding the original ACP to more locations in North Carolina, AND expanding the pipeline into South Carolina (see Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s Future Plans: Expand in NC & SC). Dominion openly says that the SCANA purchase makes it more likely they will push to expand ACP into SC–meaning even more Marcellus/Utica gas could be flowing to Dixie. But now there’s a big, fat wrinkle. SCANA is in trouble because they began to build, and later abandoned, a nuclear plant project–costing ratepayers millions of dollars. SC politicians want to rebate some of the money that was paid for the project back to ratepayers. They passed a bill on Wednesday (now on the governor’s desk) that will slash rates for customers by 15%. Dominion reacted strongly, implying they may pull out of the deal if the bill is signed by the governor…
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    Dominion Energy Launches New Debt Financing Program with a Twist

    Dominion Energy, a huge company that not only is a “local” utility providing gas and electric through much of the Marcellus/Utica region, but also a midstream (pipeline) company and the builder/operator of the Cove Point LNG export facility, is launching what looks to be a slightly different twist on using OPM–other people’s money–to finance operations. Disclaimer: We’re not high finance experts. It seems to us that Dominion’s new debt financing program, called “Dominion Energy Reliability Investment,” is not the typical way of selling a bunch of notes (IOUs) as others have done. With Dominion’s program, just launched, investors can invest from $1,000 up to $1.25 million at any time, buying and selling their notes whenever. There are no maintenance fees for investing in the notes program, nor any charges for redemption checks. However, these notes/investments are not insured by the FDIC. Buying these notes is not like investing in a money market fund where your investment is insured. However, we seriously doubt there’s any risk of Dominion defaulting. Here’s what Dominion says about their new debt financing program…
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    Despite Court Ruling, Atlantic Coast Pipeline Continues Construction

    In May MDN told you that the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had invalidated (vacated) a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to accidentally kill a few bats and bumble bees (classified as endangered) as it builds the massive $6.5 billion, 600-mile project from West Virginia to North Carolina (see U.S. Fourth Circuit Court Vacates Key Permit for Atlantic Coast Pipe). The Sierra Club and several other radical, far-left groups were behind the court case that led to the decision. However, as it turns out, the decision doesn’t really hurt the project all that much. The vacated permit isn’t so “key” after all. Of the 600 or so miles of pipeline getting built, the vacated permit from Fish and Wildlife only affects about 10 miles of pipeline (see Only 10 Miles of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Affected by Court Ruling). The radicals are back, not happy that only 10 miles of pipeline is idled for now. In a “but, but, but, but, but” request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the antis argue FERC should shut down the whole enchilada–because they don’t like having just 10 miles shut down. Meanwhile, Dominion keeps up steady-and-sure construction of the project. It’s getting built, even as you read this…
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    Cove Point LNG Shutting Down for Maintenance This Fall

    Cove Point LNG, built by Dominion Energy, began exporting Marcellus Shale gas in April (see First-Ever Shipment of Marcellus LNG Leaves Cove Point, Maryland). Even though it’s only been up and running for about two months, there’s already talk of shutting Cove Point down. You may recall that two countries have contracted for all of the exported LNG coming from Cove Point: India and Japan (see Dominion’s Cove Point LNG Facility Achieves Important Milestones). Dominion Energy CEO Tom Farrell is currently visiting Japan to commemorate the first two shipments of Marcellus LNG arriving there. Yesterday Farrell shared that although Cove Point is doing just fine, the plant will undergo “brief maintenance” of “a few weeks” in the autumn. Scheduled downtime. Does that mean LNG will quit flowing out of the facility each day? According to Farrell, it “depends” on how full the storage tanks are ahead of the planned downtime…
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    Only 10 Miles of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Affected by Court Ruling

    Last week MDN told you that the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had invalidated (vacated) a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to accidentally kill a few bats and bumble bees (classified as endangered) as it builds the massive $6.5 billion, 600-mile project from West Virginia to North Carolina (see U.S. Fourth Circuit Court Vacates Key Permit for Atlantic Coast Pipe). The Sierra Club and several other radical, far-left groups were behind the court case that led to the decision. However, as it turns out, the decision doesn’t really hurt the project all that much. The vacated permit isn’t so “key” after all. Of the 600 or so miles of pipeline getting built, the vacated permit from Fish and Wildlife only affects about 10 miles of pipeline. A nothingburger. Dominion continues to build ACP and the 10 miles of affected construction will get done after Fish and Wildlife redoes the paperwork to the court’s liking. Antis are furious (as they always are), claiming the court ruling shuts down all construction. Not so. Construction continues, despite antis’ moaning and groaning…
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