Dominion announced Tuesday that it has hired a new vendor to provide security services at Millstone Power Station, ending its 29-year contract with Securitas.

The company has hired G4S Regulated Security Solutions, a Jupiter, Fla.-based company that provides security services worldwide. Richard Zuercher, spokesman for Millstone, said the contract with Securitas was due to expire, so Dominion sought competitive bids. G4S offered to provide the services at a lower cost and also submitted a detailed plan to "enhance safety and error-free performance for its safety officers," Zuercher said.

The size of the security force at the nuclear power plant in Waterford will not change, he said. He would not disclose the number of guards. G4S is expected to hire 80 to 90 percent of the guards who had been employed by Securitas, which has offices in downtown New London, and would fill the remaining positions with replacements, he said.

- Judy Benson