RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Property taxes
paid to counties and municipalities by the proposed Atlantic Coast
Pipeline would ultimately exceed $25
million a year, according to estimates provided to the local
governments.
The estimates were developed by Dominion (NYSE: D), which will
build and operate the natural gas pipeline pending regulatory
approval for a four-member joint venture that includes Duke Energy
(NYSE: DUK), Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) and AGL Resources
(NYSE: GAS). The pipeline is to extend approximately 550 miles in
West Virginia, Virginia and North
Carolina to bring much-needed natural gas for power
generation, homes and businesses.
"The local benefits of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for the host
communities -- including new property taxes paid by the pipeline --
will be very real and very significant," said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion Energy. "At
a time when many local governments are challenged to fund schools
and provide other essential services, this new revenue can make a
big difference."
Property tax payments may begin as early as 2016 once
construction of the pipeline is approved by federal regulators and
installation begins as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline joint venture
spends dollars on construction-related costs. If approved by
federal regulators, construction will begin in 2016 and the
pipeline is projected to be in service by late 2018.
Annual property tax payments will increase during the
construction period, based on tax formulas in each state and
locality. For example, Dominion has estimated that counties and
municipalities along the proposed route would receive $23 million in property tax payments in 2020 and
increase to more than $25 million
starting in 2021, when the full value of the project is ultimately
reflected in tax payments.
The property tax estimates are based on the latest available tax
rates and assessment ratios by each county and are subject to
change. They exclude any property taxes on land, and are calculated
using current estimates of income, expense and capital costs.
Changes in the construction schedules for the pipeline also may
affect the amount and distribution of the property tax payments in
any given year.
"These property tax benefits are in addition to the cleaner air,
the thousands of jobs it takes to build a project of this magnitude
and the other significant economic growth created by the pipeline,"
Leopold said.
Chmura Economics & Analytics of Richmond, Va., projects that the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline would inject an annual average of $456.3 million into the economy of the
three-state region of West
Virginia, Virginia and
North Carolina, supporting about
2,900 annual jobs in the region from 2014 to 2019. When the
pipeline is in full operation, the project is estimated to have an
annual impact in the three-state region of $69.2 million that can support 271 regional jobs
from 2019 onward. The report is available at
https://www.dom.com/library/domcom/pdfs/gas-transmission/atlantic-coast-pipeline/acp-chmura-report-091014.pdf
A spreadsheet showing estimated tax property payments by county
for the period 2016-2025 is available at
https://www.dom.com/library/domcom/pdfs/gas-transmission/atlantic-coast-pipeline/acp-property-tax-chart-120114.pdf.
About Dominion
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters
of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,600 megawatts of
generation, 10,900 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 utility and retail energy customers in 10 states. For
more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at
www.dom.com.
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in
the United States with
approximately $115 billion in total
assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2
million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast
and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business
segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in
North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio
of renewable energy assets in the United
States. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250
company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK.
More information about the company is available at:
www.duke-energy.com.
About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily
engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million
residential, commercial, industrial and power generation utility
customers in portions of North
Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee, including customers
served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our
subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related
businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, and
regulated interstate natural gas transportation and storage, and
regulated intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More
information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet
at http://www.piedmontng.com/.
About AGL Resources
AGL Resources is an Atlanta-based
energy services holding company with operations in natural gas
distribution, retail operations, wholesale services and midstream
operations. AGL Resources serves approximately 4.5 million utility
customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries in seven
states. The company also serves approximately 630,000 retail energy
customers and approximately 1.2 million customer service contracts
through its SouthStar Energy Services joint venture and Pivotal
Home Solutions, which market natural gas and related home services.
Other non-utility businesses include asset management for natural
gas wholesale customers through Sequent Energy Management and
ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. AGL
Resources is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more
information, visit www.aglresources.com.
This Dominion news release includes certain "forward-looking
information." We have identified and will in the future
identify in our SEC Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q a number of
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the
forward-looking statements. We refer you to those discussions for
further information.
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/local-property-tax-payments-from-atlantic-coast-pipeline-expected-to-top-25-million-a-year-300002551.html
SOURCE Dominion