NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Farrell, II, today told investors that the company's dividend is expected to increase by 10 percent per year beginning in the fourth quarter of 2017 through 2020, subject to approval by the board of directors.

"Dominion Energy believes it can return more in dividends to our shareholders because of our company's solid financial footing," said Farrell. "The foundation for a higher annual dividend rate is rooted in our long-term, sustainable growth plan and billions of dollars in expected cash contributions from our master limited partnership, Dominion Energy Midstream Partners, LP."

Dominion Energy has said that from 2016 to 2020 it expects to receive between $7 billion and $8 billion in cash contributions from Dominion Energy Midstream (NYSE: DM), of which it is the general partner. These contributions include general partner cash flows, limited partner cash flows (from common units and convertible preferred units) and proceeds from asset dropdowns.

Dominion Energy's board of directors has declared a dividend of 75.5 cents per share of common stock, payable on Sept. 20, 2017. That dividend payment is 8 percent higher than the 70-cents-per-share dividend paid in September 2016. Management expects the fourth-quarter dividend, payable in December 2017, to be 10 percent higher than the fourth-quarter 2016 dividend of 70 cents per share of common stock.

Dominion Energy, Inc., is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 25,700 megawatts of generation, 14,400 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,500 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion Energy operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 1 trillion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves more than 6 million utility and retail energy customers. For more information about Dominion Energy, visit the company's website at DominionEnergy.com.

Payment of 2017-2020 dividends is subject to quarterly determination and declaration by the board of directors of specific record and payable dates.

This news release includes certain forward-looking information that is subject to various risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expect," "target," "would," "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should" and similar terms and phrases are used to identify forward-looking statements. Our business is influenced by many factors that are difficult to predict, involve uncertainties that may materially affect actual results and are often beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely, such as the timing and execution of Dominion Energy Midstream's growth strategy. We have identified in our SEC Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and will in the future identify, 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. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made.

SOURCE Dominion Energy