Dominion East Ohio Offers Important Winter Safety, Service Information And Conservation Tips

CLEVELAND, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As Northeastern Ohio braces for potentially record-setting low temperatures, Dominion East Ohio is reminding customers of important safety and service information as well as conservation tips during much colder weather conditions.

"As always, we want all of our customers to be safe and careful during this extremely cold weather. Customer safety, as well as the safety of our employees, is our highest priority," said Scott Miller, vice president and general manager, Dominion East Ohio. "During this extreme cold weather, Dominion East Ohio asks all customers to voluntarily turn down their thermostats and to lower the setting on their water heaters if they can do so safely, and for businesses to reduce the use of natural gas for manufacturing or processing, if practicable.  These conservation efforts through this Wednesday will help keep natural gas supplies flowing to all Dominion customers."

Safety/Emergency Service: Customers should know Dominion East Ohio provides 24-hour emergency service every day. Dominion considers it an emergency if customers smell an odor of gas or if none of their natural gas appliances are working. If customers smell a natural gas odor inside a house or building, they should leave the premises immediately and call Dominion East Ohio's 24-hour emergency service from a neighbor's house, toll-free, at 1-877-542-2630. Customers should also call Dominion if they experience any service interruptions.

Conservation: With extremely cold temperatures, Dominion urges all of it customers to take prudent conservation measures, which could include temporarily reducing thermostat or water heating temperature settings.  The company recommends that customers use simple conversation techniques to maintain comfort and safety such as saving energy by weather-stripping homes and insulating doors and windows. Customers also can block off drafts at the bottoms of doors with a rolled-up throw rug or towel. More conservations suggestions can be found at www.dom.com/storm-center/winter-weather-tips.jsp.

Energy Assistance: Colder weather can lead to higher natural gas bills. Dominion East Ohio strongly urges customers who believe they will not be able to maintain regular payments or service to contact the company immediately, at 1-800-362-7557 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays, to inquire about energy assistance programs and payment options.

Sufficient, Reliable Energy Supplies: Dominion East Ohio is served by multiple interstate pipelines and has the benefit of Ohio natural gas production and underground gas storage that will play a key role in maintaining gas deliveries to customers over the upcoming period. As with any gas utility system, there may be isolated areas where the company may experience lower operating pressures, and we are preparing to address those situations if they arise.

Dominion East Ohio is unit of Dominion, one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,500 megawatts of generation, 11,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines.  Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems, with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity, and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

SOURCE Dominion East Ohio