Dominion Energy

Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Dominion Lockout of Union Workers Ends, New Labor Talks Begin
September 16, 2016September 16, 2016

One week ago Dominion Transmission locked out over 900 union workers, many of them in West Virginia (and others in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland), preventing them from working (see Dominion Locks Out Labor Union Workers in WV-PA-OH-NY-VA-MD). Dominion has a contract with Local 69 of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) that expired on April 1st and a new contract is nowhere near done being negotiated. Dominion said they didn’t want to run the risk of a strike or work slowdown during the winter months, so they locked out union members, including those that work at compressor stations and along pipelines (see Dominion Locks Out Union Workers at Compressor Stations/Pipelines). The dispute revolves around pension and health care. The union wants to keep the pension plan and health benefits it has now. Dominion wants to end paying full health benefits for new hires after they retire, and also wants to change their pension to a 401(k), shifting the risk of the pension to the individual and not the company. Although a new contract is still nowhere near ready, the lockout is over. Local 69 agreed to not strike or engage in work slowdowns, and in return Dominion will pay workers for their one week vacation/protest. Now they go back to the negotiating table and the new deadline is April 1, 2017–one year after the old contract expired…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Lets Dominion Boost Recoverable Spending on Pipe Replacement
September 15, 2016September 15, 2016

Dominion launched a $4 billion, 25-year Pipeline Infrastructure Replacement (PIR) program in mid-2008. The program involves replacing over 5,500 miles of Dominion’s 22,000-mile pipeline system. Most of the pipeline to be replaced was installed in the first half of the 1900s. Some of the pipeline (much?) is being done in Ohio. The pipelines Dominion wants to replace in Ohio are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). If Dominion wants to do anything with or for the pipelines in Ohio, they first need PUCO permission. Dominion has sought, and now received, PUCO permission to expand the program in Ohio. Dominion currently spends $160 million per year on the program in Ohio. PUCO gave them permission to up that amount to $170 million next year and $200 in 2018. Why is that important? Because Dominion gets to “recover” the costs (i.e. charge the costs) to utility customers. Dominion customers in Ohio can expect to see a rate increase…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A

$4.4B Dominion-Questar Merger Happens Tomorrow
September 15, 2016September 15, 2016

In February MDN told you that Dominion, with a major presence in the Marcellus/Utica region, had floated a takover offer to Questar Corporation, offering to buy the company for $4.4 billion (see Dominion Resources Makes Play for Western NatGas Company Questar). Questar is a Rockies-based integrated natural gas company operating through three principal subsidiaries. The deal is an attempt by Dominion to diversify out of the northeast/Mid-Atlantic region. It’s also a deal to bump up Dominion’s natural gas footprint, lessening the company’s reliance on electric power generation which is not growing. Since that time the deal has progressed, and tomorrow the two companies will officially tie the knot…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Rex Energy

Rex Energy to Ship Marcellus Gas to Midwest & Gulf Coast in Nov
September 13, 2016September 13, 2016

Higher prices for Rex Energy’s Marcellus/Utica gas are on the way. Why? Because the company will, beginning in November, begin to ship some of its gas out of the northeast–to the Midwest and Gulf Coast, where it can get higher prices. So says Rex in an update issued yesterday. Rex issued an operational update yesterday to discuss recent results and the next round of drilling they plan to do–4 more wells on the Vaughn pad in Carroll County, OH–and the news that a new high pressure gathering system is on the way in Butler County, PA. Included in the update is the good news that Rex will begin to ship 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natgas to the Gulf Coast and 30 MMcf/d to the Midwest, starting in November, via two different pipelines. Which pipelines?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Research

Bought & Paid For “Research” Says 2 Marcellus Pipelines Not Needed
September 13, 2016September 13, 2016

Two Democrat-run anti-fossil fuel organizations–the Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates–pooled their donated money together and went out to find a consulting firm with the veneer of respectability that could be bought off to produce a faux “report” slamming two much-needed pipelines. They found an easy mark in Synapse Energy Economics, headquartered in ultra-liberal Massachusetts. The “report” Synapse produced says neither Dominion’s $5 billion, 594-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina), nor EQT’s $3.5 billion, 301-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA) are needed. The sham report, titled “Are the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline Necessary?” (full copy below) is getting picked up by lazy (or propagandist) mainstream news organizations and reported as real news. It’s nothing of the sort. It’s a joke…
Read More “Bought & Paid For “Research” Says 2 Marcellus Pipelines Not Needed”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Herkimer County | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide MD | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Dominion Locks Out Union Workers at Compressor Stations/Pipelines
September 8, 2016September 8, 2016

Yesterday MDN reported the story that Dominion Transmission has decided to lock out union members from working at their jobs in Dominion installations over a contract dispute (see Dominion Locks Out Labor Union Workers in WV-PA-OH-NY-VA-MD). We asked the question of whether and how this might affect certain ongoing projects at Dominion. Apparently some of our comments about Dominion “union busting” rankled some MDN subscribers and may have led them to feel as though we’re taking sides in this issue. In this case, we are not taking sides. We are (uncharacteristically) remaining neutral and simply reporting what we observe based on press reports. We have a number of updates today, including comments from Dominion about why they took the action they took, the response from UGWU Local 69, and clips from stories showing that indeed, as we feared, some of the workers locked out are workers at Dominion compressor stations and pipelines. The somewhat hopeful news is that both sides are set to meet today in West Virginia with a federal mediator for more talks on settling the dispute…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Dominion Locks Out Labor Union Workers in WV-PA-OH-NY-VA-MD
September 7, 2016September 7, 2016

A labor union contract between Dominion Transmission Inc. (DTI) and Local 69 of the Utility Workers Union of America, United Gas Workers expired on April 1st. Since that time the two have come to the bargaining table many times, without success. So Dominion is now trying to bust up the union (our words) by locking out 915 union workers from their jobs across the northeast and mid-Atlantic: in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Maryland and Virginia. Dominion’s top brass says they’ve had to take this step because of the upcoming heating season, about ready to begin. Dominion is concerned that customers not be left out in the cold, literally–so they’re replacing union workers with management workers and temps “trained to handle essential tasks.” Dominion is a large company that not only is an LDC (a local utility that distributes gas to customers), but also a big midstream pipeline company. Here’s what we wonder but haven’t seen addressed: What about Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export plant? Are any of these sidelined union workers off the job at Cove Point, and will that delay the project? Same for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. When it gets built, will it get built without union workers? What about Dominion compressor station upgrades coming to six plants, recently approved by FERC (see FERC OKs 6 Dominion Compressor Station Upgrades in PA, MD, VA)? Were any of these union workers working on the compressor projects?…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide MD | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Virginia

FERC OKs 6 Dominion Compressor Station Upgrades in PA, MD, VA
August 31, 2016August 31, 2016

Dominion Leidy South – click for larger version

It’s not often we miss reporting on a pipeline upgrade project in the Marcellus/Utica. This is one of those rare cases. Over a year ago Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade six compressor stations along the DTI pipeline system in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The upgraded compressors would allow DTI to pump an additional 155,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas, providing that gas to new and expanding natgas-fired electric generating plants. The project will cost $210 million. The new news for the project is that FERC approved it this week, granting DTI a certificate to move forward with the upgrades. Below is information about the project, and about FERC’s approval…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Sierra Club Lawsuit Seeks to Block Power Plant, Atlantic Coast Pipe
August 19, 2016August 19, 2016

In March 2015, Dominion–a huge natural gas and electric utility as well as a midstream company–announced plans to build the State of Virginia’s largest natural gas powered electric generating plant, in Greensville County, VA (see Virginia’s Largest Electric Plant to be Powered by Marcellus Gas). The $1.3 billion state-of-the-art natural gas-fired electric generating station will generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Dominion’s own $5 billion, 554-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide cheap, abundant, clean-burning Marcellus/Utica Shale gas to power it (see Atlantic Coast Pipeline Makes Progress, FERC Timing Announced). The Virginia State Corporate Commission (SCC) approved the project in March of this year (see Virginia Approves State’s Largest NatGas-Powered Electric Plant). In June, Dominion began construction (see Dominion Begins Building Virginia’s Biggest NatGas Power Station). On Tuesday, environmental Nazis from the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed a federal lawsuit (in Virginia) to stop both the power plant and the pipeline, claiming the power plant won’t use the “best available emissions control technology” and that the pipeline will leak methane like a sieve…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Makes Progress, FERC Timing Announced
August 15, 2016August 15, 2016

Atlantic Coast Pipeline

More good news for Dominion’s $5 billion, 594-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline–a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. In March MDN reported Dominion has agreements for 96% of the capacity along the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day pipeline (see Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline Makes Major Strides). Not only that, but 90% of the landowners along the pipeline’s proposed route have granted Dominion survey access and many of them have signed easements allowing Dominion to build the pipeline across their land. The new news is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set June 30, 2017 as the date by which the agency will issue their final environmental impact statement for the project. In other words, we now have specific dates for when this project will advance…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Dominion Selling “Future Stocks” – Hopes to Raise $1.25B
August 12, 2016August 12, 2016

On Monday utility and midstream giant Dominion announced it would offer 25 million “equity units” at a price of $50 for each unit. They hope to raise $1.25 billion “for general corporate purposes, including the buyout of Questar Corporation (see Dominion’s Quest to Buy Questar for $4.4B Advances). What the heck is an equity unit? Dominion says, “Each equity unit will be issued in a stated amount of $50 and will consist of a contract to purchase common stock in the future and two 1/40 undivided beneficial ownership interests in remarketable subordinated notes each having a principal amount of $1,000.” Huh? It sounds to us like Dominion is selling a financial instrument that will (POOF) turn into a stock at some point in the future. We call it a “future stock.” Dominion issued a pair of press releases about the plan–one on Monday and another on Wednesday. Here’s what they said…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation

Cove Point LNG Now 67% Complete, Atlantic Coast Pipeline on Track
August 8, 2016August 7, 2016

Dominion Cove Point Terminal – click for larger version

Last week utility and midstream giant Dominion issued their second quarter update and held an earnings/analyst call to discuss the update. Sometimes those earnings calls are a treasure trove of information you don’t see in the prepared quarterly update, especially in the unscripted Q&A that follows prepared remarks. Such was the case last week. Dominion’s CEO and President, Tom Farrell, along with other top brass from the company, offered up key insights into the Cove Point LNG export project, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, Blue Racer Midstream (a Dominion’s joint venture project), and the status of leased acreage for which the company owns Marcellus/Utica drilling rights. A smorgasbord of yummy updates! Here they are…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Cold Feet? Japan Wants to Swap Cove Point LNG for Asian LNG
August 2, 2016August 2, 2016

In April 2013, Dominion signed Japan and India to a deal to accept 100% of the LNG output that will come from their Cove Point, Maryland LNG export facility (see Dominion’s Cove Point LNG Facility Achieves Important Milestones). Cove Point is by now close to half built, since it was 24% complete in March and 38% complete in June (see Dominion Cove Point LNG Now 38% Built, Rapid Progress Continues). The closer it gets to completion, the more the Japanese are getting cold feet. Don’t worry, they can’t wiggle out of the contract. But they’re concerned that it will take 20 days to ship a cargo of LNG from Cove Point to Japan, when they could get gas in half that time from other sources. So the Japanese are playing “Let’s Make a Deal,” looking for partners willing to swap Cove Point cargos for Asian cargos of LNG. Here’s what the Japanese are proposing…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide WV | West Virginia

FERC Grants Dominion Clarington Project a 1-Year Extension
July 27, 2016July 27, 2016

In June 2014 Dominion filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate new compression facilities at existing compressor stations in Marshall County, WV and Monroe County, OH, and certain other facilities, collectively called the Clarington Project (see Dominion Asks FERC for New Compressors in Upstate NY, WV). The Clarington project, costing a modest $76.5 million, will allow Dominion to provide 250,000 dekatherms (Dth) per day of firm transportation service for CNX Gas, otherwise known as CONSOL Energy. Last August, FERC approved Dominion’s request (see FERC Approves Dominion WV/OH Compressor Project, Rips Anti Group). FERC gave Dominion a year to complete the project, but Dominion filed a request last Friday requesting more time. FERC agreed and has extended the project completion date an extra year…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Maryland | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide MD

Radical Enviro Groups Suffer Big Court Defeat re Cove Point LNG
July 18, 2016July 18, 2016

Anti-drilling zealots attempting to stop the Cove Point, Maryland LNG (liquefied natural gas) from going online have failed in court, again. And they failed big time. MDN reported in April that a group of Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Patuxent Riverkeeper, EarthReports Inc. and Earthjustice colluded together to sue in federal appeals court to try and stop the project (see Green Groups Ask DC Judge to Stop Construction at Cove Point LNG). On Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against the groups. The argument they raised (and keep raising) is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not take into account so-called cumulative effects in permissioning such a facility. That is, because there is an export facility, that means there will be more drilling and fracking, and that means more air pollution, etc. The court rejected that claim and said in their decision (full copy below) that FERC is not required to consider such cumulative affects. Indeed, FERC’s charter prohibits them from considering such effects. This is a crushing defeat for Big Green–people and corporations who seek to profit from uneconomical solar and wind projects by unfairly crushing the competition (natgas)…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Marcellus Shale Gives Dominion Unstoppable Competitive Advantage
July 18, 2016July 18, 2016

Ever hear of a “wide economic moat?” No, we hadn’t either. That is, until we read a Morningstar analyst writing about mighty utility and midstream giant Dominion. A “wide economic moat,” according to Investopedia, is “A type of sustainable competitive advantage that a business possesses that makes it difficult for rivals to wear down its market share and profit. The term is derived from the water filled moats that surrounded medieval castles.” Makes sense. We’d call it being so far ahead of the pack no one else can catch up. Whatever metaphor floats your boat. The interesting part (for MDN) in the Morningstar analysis of Dominion is *why* they are head and shoulders above their midstream and utility peers. Why? “[N]otably the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Cove Point LNG facility.” That is, because of the Marcellus Shale. The analyst predicts Cove Point LNG will be the only LNG export facility on the East Coast. That would certainly qualify as a competitive advantage for Dominion…
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