RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of
residents in rural parts of Surry
County could receive access to high-speed internet under an
agreement signed by Dominion Energy Virginia and Prince George
Electric Cooperative (PGEC).
The partnership marks the first time a utility has joined with a
cooperative to expand broadband access in the Commonwealth. The
agreement would extend access to around 4,500 Dominion Energy
customers and 2,200 PGEC customers in Surry County currently not offered broadband
services.
"Dominion Energy is committed to the communities in which we
serve and live and embraces the opportunity with PGEC to expand
access to broadband in rural communities," said Ed Baine, senior vice president of power
delivery for Dominion Energy Virginia. "Access will support
economic development and social equity while simultaneously
promoting numerous public benefits and educational opportunities
for citizens of the Commonwealth."
As a regulated electric service provider, Dominion Energy's duty
to provide electricity to all within its service territory puts it
in a unique position to bridge the current broadband gap. Dominion
Energy is installing fiber in rural areas as it moves forward with
efforts to transform Virginia's
energy grid. By utilizing fiber capacity for operational needs and
broadband access, Dominion Energy can reduce broadband deployment
costs for internet service providers.
In this case, Dominion Energy agrees to serve as the "middle
mile" provider by allowing RURALBAND, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
PGEC, to lease fiber and provide last-mile Fiber To The Home
service. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) details how the
parties would work together on the project, which would be filed
with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) later this year for
regulatory approval.
"We are excited to have Dominion Energy partner with PGEC on
this exciting opportunity to bring high speed internet to a
beautiful waterfront community in need of access for education and
economic development growth," said Casey
Logan, President of Prince George Electric Cooperative.
"This partnership brings rural Surry
County into the modern communications age, bridging a vital
utility gap through reliable high-speed broadband services to
residents and businesses, essential to Surry's social and economic prosperity," said
Melissa Rollins, Acting County
Administrator – Surry County. "We
appreciate the partnership and commitment by Dominion Energy and
PGEC to bring broadband access to Surry and other rural Virginia communities."
The MOU is the result of a request for information by Dominion
Energy Virginia in 2019. This is the first agreement created
through the Grid Transformation & Security Act of 2018 and
legislation patroned by Del. Israel
O'Quinn in 2019. It will require around $16-$18 million in
investment provided by the three parties, as well as federal and
state grants.
For more information about the pilot program visit:
http://www.dominionenergy.com/ruralbroadband
About Dominion Energy
More than 7 million customers in
18 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity
or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered
in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable,
reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of the
nation's largest producers and transporters of energy with more
than $100 billion of assets providing electric
generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas
storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. The
company is committed to achieve net zero carbon dioxide and methane
emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure
operations by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to
learn more.
About Prince George Electric Cooperative
Headquartered
in Waverly, Prince George Electric
Cooperative is a not-for-profit member-owned energy provider that
serves over 12,000 homes, farms and businesses in Dinwiddie, Prince
George, Southampton,
Surry, Sussex, and Isle of
Wight counties. PGEC Fiber, a cooperative subsidiary, has
begun offering broadband service within the cooperative's service
territory. For more information, visit www.pgec.coop and
www.RURALBAND.coop.
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SOURCE Dominion Energy