Co-op America Consumer Action Campaign Successful in Helping Halt
                Construction of Dominion Coal-fired Plants.

    WASHINGTON, June 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Co-op America's Climate
Change Program today applauded a decision by Dominion Power to cancel three
of four new dirty coal-fired power plants originally slated for
construction by the company. Co-op America thanked the participants in its
successful consumer awareness campaign opposing the controversial power
plants.
    More than 20,000 Co-op America members and other concerned citizens
sent messages to Dominion urging the power company to focus more on
alternative energy sources. Co-op America renewed its call in April 2007
for Americans to speak out against the plans of the Richmond-based energy
company. The petitions from consumers join the concerns of shareholders who
called on the company at its annual meeting to address the pressing climate
change issues at stake.
    Co-op America Climate Change Program Director Todd Larsen said: "Co-op
America and its members have been calling on Dominion Power to stop relying
on dirty coal power, and transition toward cleaner energy solutions that
will reduce global warming emissions. Last year, after we first began
taking action on Dominion, we saw the company begin to invest in wind power
for the first time. Now Dominion and Royal Dutch Shell are pledging to
triple wind power investments in West Virginia over the course of this
year.
    Dominion has recently cancelled plans for two coal-fired power plants
totaling 2250 megawatts, according to the Department of Energy
(http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/refshelf/ncp.pdf). Dominion has also
confirmed that a 600 MW plant scheduled for Ohio has been cancelled.
    Larsen emphasized that the public needs to keep up the pressure on
Dominion, which still has plans to build a dirty coal-fired power plant and
a nuclear power plant in Virginia. Dominion has also failed to comply with
shareholder requests that it disclose its potential financial exposure from
foreseeable climate regulations.
    Earlier this spring, Co-op America joined allies in Virginia to oppose
Dominion-sponsored legislation in that state to allow the company to reap
greater profits without making additional investments in renewable energy.
Co-op America members contacted the governor's office to ask for changes to
make the bill better serve consumers and the environment. The final
legislation was improved to include a doubling of the state's voluntary
renewable energy use and demand consumption goals by 2022.
    ABOUT CO-OP AMERICA
    Co-op America is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1982
with the mission to harness economic power-the strength of consumers,
investors, businesses, and the marketplace-and to create a socially just
and environmentally sustainable society.
 

SOURCE Co-op America, Washington, D.C.