of a mild summer

A milder-than-usual summer cut the amount of juice Dominion Virginia Power shipped through its wires in the third quarter.

But even so, the company's parent, the Richmond-based energy giant Dominion Resources Inc., reported 17 percent higher profits during the July-to-September period.

A rate increase late in the quarter and increased business with Virginia's growing military bases helped. So did lower financing charges and income taxes.

"Our core business continued to deliver strong operating earnings results this quarter despite unfavorable weather in our electric service territory," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman and chief executive officer of Dominion Resources.

What "unfavorable" means is that the third quarter was about 6.5 percent cooler than normal and 8.8 percent cooler than last year, as measured by a statistical abstraction called heating and cooling degree days.

The company's electricity deliveries in Virginia and North Carolina slipped by 0.9 percent from last year's level to 22,193 gigawatt-hours during the quarter. A gigawatt is 1 billion watts, which is the amount of electricity that 10 million 100-watt light bulbs burn.

Revenue collected from Virginia and North Carolina customers rose 3.3 percent, to $1.19 billion, in part because of the September rate increase and in part to recover money spent on construction projects approved by state regulators. About 4 percent of the company's customers are in North Carolina.

But revenue for all of Dominion Resources, which operates natural gas distribution and transmission companies as well as power plants that sell to customers outside the state, declined 16 percent, to $3.65 billion.

The main reason was sharply lower prices for natural gas and other fuels. Those costs are passed on, dollar-for-dollar, to the company's customers, which means lower prices cut revenue and expenses.

Dominion Resources had other savings, though, that flowed through to its bottom line. Low interest rates meant the cost of financing its operations declined. Its income tax rate also declined.

Dominion Resources earned $594 million, or $1 a share, in the quarter compared with $508 million, or 88 cents a share, in the year- ago period.

Shares fell 54 cents, or 1.56 percent, to close at $34.09.

Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or dress@

timesdispatch.com.

Originally published by RESS; Times-Dispatch Staff Writer.

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