May 2018
The future is bright with Solar for Students
Dominion Energy has expanded its Solar for Students program to give more students the chance to observe and learn how power is generated by the sun. The hands-on learning program provides a permanent solar array right outside the classroom and the materials, training and curriculum needed to engage children in learning the science behind renewable energy.
Solar for Students was introduced as a pilot at four schools three years ago, and this year it is being introduced at five more schools. Dominion Energy and its partners will host "Solarbration" events this spring to showcase the latest solar projects and give the community the chance to learn more about this collaborative learning endeavor. In addition, the company just announced plans to expand the program to eight more schools. Funding for Solar for Students is provided through the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation.
Get your house in shape for summer
As the warm weather approaches, many of us find ourselves working a little harder to get our bodies in shape. But now is a great time to get your house in shape as well. Check out these measures to help trim your summer energy bills.
- Check for attic air leaks around recessed light fixtures, pipes, wiring, and flues.Seal them with expandable foam or caulk.
- Consider installing a whole-house fan.The fan draws cool outside air through open windows and pulls hot indoor air into the attic and outdoors.
- Install ENERGY STAR® certified ceiling fans.Ceiling fans make your skin feel cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning.
- Install a programmable thermostat to save energy by adjusting temperatures based on your schedule.
- Hire a qualified professional to inspect and clean your air conditioning system.This will help ensure that the system is operating at peak efficiency.
- Don’t spend your energy dollars outside.Seal windows with caulk and install weather stripping around exterior doors.
- Is your roof getting up there in age?Replace it with a cool roof.Cool roof materials reflect solar heat, keeping it from radiating into your home.
Now your home is fit to handle the hottest summer temperatures. The payoff is lower energy costs and increased comfort. Just sit back and enjoy the savings.
See additional summer energy saving tips.
Project Plant It! hits half-million milestone
Project Plant It! is the environmental education program created by Dominion Energy to educate children, plant trees and improve the environment. Each year, this program teaches thousands of students and community members about the value of trees in our ecosystem and how to recognize and care for them. Through the program, each participating child receives a free redbud tree seedling to plant at home for Arbor Day. This year marks a major milestone with the distribution of 500,000 tree seedlings since the program began in 2007, which equates to about 1,250 acres of new forest.
With Project Plant It!, educators receive STEM-based lesson plans and instructional tools that can be downloaded at no charge at www.projectplantit.com. This year, to further engage children about the many benefits that trees provide to the ecosystem, a new lesson plan about conservation of natural resources was added to the Educator's Guide on the website. Along with this manual of 12 lesson plans and helpful resources, the website features interactive games and videos about trees that children can enjoy with adults.
April 2018
Delivering Sustainable Value
From investing in cleaner energy to strengthening local communities, we’re committed to operating in a responsible manner. You deserve to feel good about where your energy comes from, and to know that you’re getting a good deal for your energy dollar. See more.
Celebrating the Lives of Seniors
Dominion Energy recently partnered with the South Richmond Adult Day Care Center to document and honor the lives of seven senior citizens who spend most weekdays at the center.
The personal history project was spearheaded by Vera Thoms, a corporate philanthropy coordinator at Dominion who has a passion for helping others preserve and tell their life stories. While meeting with the center’s executive director, Vera suggested she could work with the seniors and their caregivers to gather and organize their favorite photos, memories and words of wisdom into shadowboxes or books.
“Every person has a unique life story, and I think it’s really important to capture and preserve those experiences and memories to share with others,” said Thoms. For seniors, in particular, it can be a cathartic exercise that helps them find value and worth in their own lives and share that legacy with future generations.
In late January, Dominion Energy hosted a “Portrait of My Loved One” event to share and present the finished personal histories to family members and staff. Family members were invited to take the stage to share their own memories and many took the chance to express their love and gratitude.
As Eileen Hopson, the wife of army veteran Andrew Hopson said, “I’m so thankful for the staff here for giving us this wonderful home away from home and I’m thankful to Dominion Energy for this amazing history project.” A few of the memories Andrew shared: He was a championship bowler and could outrun his young nephews into his seventies.
To cap off the celebration, Vera announced that the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation would donate a $5,000 grant to provide music and art therapy to the seniors at the center, another way to keep them connected and engaged in life and those around them.
Ready for a room makeover? Enroll in or stay on eBill for a chance to win!
Go or stay paperless and receive your bill from the comfort of your newly made over room. When you enroll in or stay on eBill before May 31, 2018, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $4,000 room makeover, complete with an in-home interior design consultation, and gift cards to complete the makeover. Two second place winners will also receive one $500 gift card each.
With eBill, you’ll:
- Never forget to pay your bill
Get an email reminder when your bill is ready to view online, and also three days before payment is due. You also have the option to receive those reminders via text.
- Choose the way you pay
It’s easy to pay. Choose between free, same-day payments from your bank account, scheduled payments, or automatic bank draft – just sign in to your online profile at DominionEnergy.com. The choice is yours.
- Have immediate access to your bill
Gone are the days of making the trek to a mailbox to get the mail. eBill gives you 24/7 online access to view, pay or print your Dominion Energy bill from your desktop, smartphone or tablet.
Start enjoying the benefits of eBill and be entered for a chance to design the room of your dreams! It's easy to enroll. You can either sign up at DominionEnergy.com/ebillpromo or you can enroll at participating bank's online bill payment site. If you are already enrolled, just keep doing what you’re doing, you’re automatically entered for a chance to win!
March 2018
Dominion Energy ArtStars winners brighten communities
ArtStars WiseJams program students showcase their musical talent.
This year's Dominion Energy ArtStars award-winners are brightening communities and inspiring a whole new generation of talented students and performers across Virginia. The five non-profit organizations being honored as 2018 Dominion Energy ArtStars were granted $10,000 each for bringing outstanding arts or cultural education into K-12 schools.
The following ArtStars winners and their exceptional programs were recognized at the 2018 Virginia Commission for the Arts 50th Anniversary Program:
- ART 180 provides free art programs to young people in challenging circumstances at partner organizations and its own teen center in the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond. See how ART 180 is helping students gain confidence and find their creative voices.
- Light House Studio in Charlottesville, a nonprofit filmmaking center, hosts 134 workshops for students in the Shenandoah region to develop their vision and build their creative skills. See how Light House Studio is empowering youth to express themselves in positive ways.
- Sandler Center for the Performing Arts provides access for students in grades Pre-K through 8 to live performances throughout the academic year in Virginia Beach.
- Signature Theatre of Arlington uses theater to engage 2,000 high school students in the arts while strengthening key academic skills in literacy and critical thinking.
- Virginia's Heritage Music Trail in Abingdon incorporates traditional Appalachian music instruction in southwest Virginia schools.
Dominion ArtStars Awards recognize arts organizations that best demonstrate the ability to advance the synergy between arts and education for the benefit of students and their communities.
Dominion Energy crews back from Puerto Rico: Restoration work tough, but rewarding
After a month of challenging restoration work on an island far from home, 82 Dominion Energy electric crews and support staff returned to Virginia in mid-February safe and sound.
“We had long, 14-hour work days that would start at 5 and go until 7 in the evening,” said Sean Feely, a returning lineman from Mechanicsville, Virginia. “It was hard to see people who had been out of lights for months … but great to be able to see their faces smile and light up when we were able to get the power back on and how happy they were.
Many of the residents had been living without electric service since Sept. 20, 2017, when Hurricane Maria wiped out much of the island’s infrastructure.
The Dominion Energy contingent worked through unfamiliar and harsh conditions to restore power in the mountainous Carolina region of Puerto Rico, about 30 minutes northeast of San Juan. Daily challenges included high temperatures, intense humidity, hazardous terrain, poor road conditions and uninvited visitors in the form of iguanas and boa constrictors.
All in all, the team managed to set 226 new poles, rework hundreds more, and restring or replace over 14 miles of electric wire to restore close to 2,000 customers.
When Dominion Energy crews arrived Jan. 18, only 50% of the residents in the Carolina region had power. A month later, 85% in that region were back on and about 80% of all Puerto Ricans had electric service.
Returning employees said they were touched and grateful for the hospitality and constant appreciation shown by the local people. Residents who had been without power for months still found a way to cook and deliver lunches to Dominion Energy line crews nearly every day. When Dominion Energy crews were reassigned to the other side of the mountain, the food kept arriving!
The company’s emergency response required months of pre-planning and coordination with utility partners in Puerto Rico along with peers in transportation, supply chain, safety, travel services and many other disciplines. The logistical effort included the shipment by barge of 57 bucket trucks and other vehicles, as well as hundreds of transformers and materials needed to support this successful and complex restoration project.
For more, watch a video recap of the restoration work and interviews of linemen from Dominion Energy.
Six surprising facts about energy-saving LEDs
You may already know that LED bulbs are very efficient, using 80 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that if every American home replaced just one bulb with an ENERGY STAR® rated LED, the total annual energy savings would be more than $566 million. Here are some remarkable facts about LEDs.
- High quality LED bulbs have a rated lifetime of 25,000 hours or more. At an average of five hours a night, 365 days a year, an LED could last up to 14 years!
- Prices to purchase LEDs have dropped significantly in the last 10 years. Since 2008, the cost for LED bulbs has dropped by around 90 percent. Today, you can buy an ENERGY STAR® certified 60-watt equivalent LED bulb for as little as $1.50.
- LEDs come in different color tones. Looking for a warm light for a little atmosphere, or a sharper tone for crafting? LEDs have you covered. Look on the product label for color temperature in Kelvin (K). A lower temperature (2700K) provides a warm, yellowish light, while a higher temperature (5000K) bulb produces a cooler, higher contrast light.
- Some LEDs are the brightest bulb in the room. Advanced 'smart' features are available with some LED products. With an accompanying app, you can remotely turn bulbs on and off, dim them, change their color, and set them on a schedule and other cool stuff. The features available depend on the model you choose.
- LEDs are better for the environment. In addition to using less energy, LEDs contain no mercury, a hazardous material found in fluorescent lamps and other types of lighting. A DOE study found that LEDs have a lower overall environmental impact than incandescent bulbs and CFLs.
- LEDs were invented by accident. In 1961, two engineers at Texas Instruments were working on laser diodes for radar antennas when they accidentally discovered the first light-emitting diodes. These LEDs were in the infrared (non-visible) range. Visible LEDs were first developed by GE researchers in 1962.
January 2018
