1/9/2008 12:05:08 PM

Glen Allen, Va. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), a not-for-profit power provider to 10 local electric cooperatives in Virginia, today confirmed it is reviewing the feasibility of constructing a base load power generation facility on either a 1,600-acre site in Surry County, Va. or a 1,200-acre site in Sussex County, Va.

ODEC, which has previously built generation facilities in Halifax, Louisa and Fauquier counties in Virginia, has identified the need for a base load facility to meet the around-the-clock electricity needs of ODECs nearly 390,000 member-owners in Virginia. In addition to the 10 Virginia electric cooperatives ODEC provides with wholesale power, it also supplies power to an electric cooperative in Delaware and another on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

According to David Hudgins, director of member and external communications for ODEC, a combination of factors led the organization to consider constructing this new facility. ODEC expects the electricity needs among its member-owners to double in the next 10 to 15 years due to economic growth in the Commonwealth. He added that wholesale contracts help ODEC meet 55 percent of its members-owners energy demands. However, wholesale prices are driven by the price of natural gas, which has risen by 75 percent during the past five years.

"With the average cost of wholesale power purchases increasing significantly during the past few years, and with every indication this trend will continue in the future, there is a clear need to provide Virginians with a more cost-efficient and predictable source of electricity through base load generation," Hudgins explained.

"It can take eight to 10 years to bring a new base load generation facility on-line. Consequently, we have an obligation to take steps now to plan for long-term electricity needs," said Hudgins. "We are in the very early stages of an 18-month environmental study to determine if these sites are suitable to support a generation facility and have not identified the technology or determined the optimum size of such a generation facility."

After the preliminary environmental studies are completed and a site is chosen, ODEC will work closely with local officials, businesses and residents throughout various phases of the facilitys development. ODEC also plans to hold open house meetings to explain the studies findings and address any questions that local residents might have about the potential project.

"Our organization has a proven track record of building power generation capacity that balances the need for additional electricity for our growing Virginia economy with being a responsible partner in the communities where we operate," stated Hudgins. ODEC is committed to working with our member-owners on continued efforts toward energy efficiency and peak load reduction and is focused on developing future generation that will provide reliable and economical electricity in an environmentally responsible and safe manner. This includes our continued examination of renewable energy and emerging technologies to address energy and environmental issues.

Both sites were chosen for final assessment after ODEC conducted an extensive siting study of potential locations in the Mid-Atlantic region. The study found that these two sites meet important criteria such as access to transmission lines and rail transportation, and provide a large enough footprint to accommodate a plant without encroaching upon environmentally sensitive areas.

About ODEC

ODEC is a generation-and-transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power to 12 member electric distribution cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Northern Neck Electric Cooperative is a member of ODEC. ODEC and its member systems are not-for-profit electric cooperatives that are owned by their member consumers. The cooperative system serves nearly 1.3 million people.

ODEC currently owns 11.6 percent of the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant in Louisa County and 50 percent of the Clover Power Station in Halifax County. The organization also owns and operates the Louisa Generation Facility in Louisa County and the Marsh Run Generation Facility in Fauquier County. Additionally, ODEC owns 50 percent of the Rock Springs Generating Facility in Cecil County, Md.