Dominion Virginia Power says it is spending $4 billion over three years to improve its ability to provide reliable service. In a letter to its 2.3 million customers, Dominion Virginia Power CEO Paul D. Koonce said the company is focusing on electric circuits and areas where service reliability does not meet its systemwide average. The electric utility, the state’s largest, said its average system reliability was 99.97 percent in 2009—an average customer would be without power for a total of about 2.6 hours in a year.

The most recent shutdown of a nuclear reactor at Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna Power Station also involved the accidental discharge of tens of thousands of gallons of cooling water into Lake Anna. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday’s shutdown of Unit 2, caused by an electrical malfunction, also prompted the discharge of what was originally thought to be up to 59,500 gallons of cooling water into the Louisa County lake.

The State Corporation Commission staff has recommended that Dominion Virginia Power’s electric rates be cut by $365.3 million a year. The state’s largest utility earned $523.7 million more than it needed to cover its costs and make a reasonable profit in 2008, the company’s last full year of operation under consideration, the commission staff said in testimony filed yesterday.

Dominion’s push to accelerate implementation of smart-grid technology is a welcome development for both consumers and the environment. A more intelligent metering system should increase efficiency, thereby lowering bills and reducing emissions. Homeowners and businesses probably will not notice any difference—the power company isn’t going to shut off your reading lamp, for instance. If anything, the grid will improve reliability, because (among other things) it will enable the system to know when your power’s out before you pick up the phone to report a problem.

A coalition of environmental groups opposed to Dominion Resources Inc.‘s coal-fired power plant in Wise County said they support the utility company’s proposal for a wind farm in the county. Richmond-based Dominion and BP Wind Energy are considering building wind energy projects in Wise and Tazewell counties in Southwest Virginia. “We’re often criticized as being opposed to everything,“ said Glen Besa with the Sierra Club’s Virginia Chapter, “and we wanted to make it clear that we are in favor of clean energy projects.“

Clean, safe, and reliable nuclear energy has been the workhorse of electric power generation in the United States for more than 30 years and is once again poised for growth to meet the new electrical demands of the future. About 20 percent of the nation’s electri cal requirements are being met today by 104 operating nuclear units. About 15 percent of the world’s electrical needs are being met by 436 commercial nuclear units.

The recent ruling of the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond was short and to the point: “Virginia law requires regulation of Dominion’s thermal pollution discharge because the exception for waste treatment simply doesn’t apply here.“ With this ruling, a decades-old viola tion of the law was ended. The impact of the decision could benefit the many thousands of people who use Lake Anna annually.

That, in simplified form, summarizes the debate over the proposed
coal-burning power plant in Surry County, the latest front in Virginia’s struggle to find new energy sources while protecting the environment. The Old Dominion Electric Cooperative proposes to build the $4 billion plant in the tiny Surry County community of Dendron, about 60 miles southeast of Richmond.

The Richmond Police Athletic League got a $1,686 boost from Rob Ukrop’s 39th birthday on April 2. For his 13th annual celebration at Chuck E. Cheese, the birthday boy provided the pizza and tokens. Participants contributed $1 or more to support the league.

. . . Dominion Virginia Power has donated $400,000 in smart-grid equipment and started a $45,000 fellowship fund at the Virginia Tech engineering school.

SunTrust, Dominion workers give $2 million to United Way SunTrust Bank and Dominion employees donated more than $2 million to the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg 2008 campaign. SunTrust Bank employees generated more than $1 million in support for the fifth consecutive year. “At SunTrust, our philosophy has always been, ‘Build your community and you build your bank,‘“ said Gail Letts, president and CEO of SunTrust Bank, central Virginia.

Electricity is expected to be restored by 10 a.m. to more than 1,100 homes and businesses in South Richmond that lost power early this morning. Dominion Virginia Power is investigating an apparent equipment failure than brought down a power line on Hull Street Road near Linwood Avenue about 5 a.m. The failure left 1,483 utility customers without power, but electricity was restored to about 350 by 6:50 a.m.

Requests for help paying heating bills are on the rise amid economic struggles and nearfreezing temperatures. Dominion Virginia Power, the largest electric utility in Virginia with 2.3 million customers, has seen an increase in requests for help through its EnergyShare program this winter, while donations are on the decline, spokesman David Botkins said.

With Gov. Timothy M. Kaine leading the way, a special group of Virginia students spent yesterday morning in downtown Richmond, engaged in a lively, frank discussion about what makes a good leader.

The Dominion Foundation announced a $1.1 million donation yesterday to help feed the growing number of struggling families in 14 states.

Economic turmoil puts extra demand on food banks and similar insitutions. More families turn to such agencies for nourishment of body and spirit; as their portfolios shrink, donors may fear they cannot give as much as they would like.