DOMINION BEING SUED FOR $1 BILLION - Overcharges On Customers Bills

(06/18/2005)
Dominion Transmission is having problems.

Natural gas consumers from Virginia and West Virginia are suing Dominion over a clerical error that reportedly spiked natural gas costs by one billion dollars last year.

The suit against Dominion comes after company employees fought a rather lengthy battle to maintain their benefits with their union contract.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

It accuses Clarksburg-based Dominion Transmission of being careless and reckless, and for failing to publicize its error in an appropriate manner.

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission investigation discovered that the subsidiary of Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources submitted the wrong week's gas storage figures in November, leading to an artificial inflation of natural gas prices.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for the increased gas prices, unspecified punitive damages, interest and attorneys' fees.