NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 22, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Dominion Resources Inc.'s (BBB+/Stable/A-2) announcement that it had reached a $1.2 billion settlement with the EPA and five states will not affect the credit ratings on the company. The environmental capital expenditure built into the projections and shared with Standard&Poor's is consistent with the settlement and is not expected to change capital spending plans. As part of the $1.2 billion agreement, Dominion will install emissions-control equipment on its largest coal-fired generating units in Virginia and West Virginia to meet compliance requirements by 2013. The agreement, negotiated back in 2000, has taken three years to formalize, but must still be finalized.
