NORTHERN VIRGINIA, Oct. 30, 2012, 7 p.m. — Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative crews found massive damage to its distribution system on Tuesday morning in Hurricane Sandy’s wake. Approximately 32,000 customers had lost power at the height of the storm. Tree and line crews from NOVEC and the Carolinas restored service to about 26,000 customers by 7 p.m. Crews will work around the clock to reconnect the remaining 5,800 customers. NOVEC anticipates having most customers’ service restored by Thursday night.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the hurricane put 8.1 million homes and businesses along the East Coast in the dark.
“We’ve had hundreds of outage events during the storm,” reports Dan Swingle, manager, System Operations. “One event knocked out power to more than 12,000 customers when the storm took out a Dominion Virginia Power transmission line that feeds three NOVEC substations in western Prince William and Loudoun counties. By working with Dominion through the night, we got all three substations back online today.”
Crews going to the hundreds of outage locations are finding scores of broken poles. “It takes about four to six hours on average for a six-man crew to replace just one pole and many of the outage locations have multiple broken poles.” explains Mason “Skip” Hollcroft, manager of NOVEC’s construction department. “Many of these broken poles are in rain-soaked right of ways, which makes access difficult. It’s taking time. We’re organized and working efficiently, but it’s a lot of work.”
Mike Curtis, NOVEC vice president of public relations, notes that crews are working in Fairfax, Fauquier, Clarke, and Stafford counties, and the City of Manassas Park as well as Prince William and Loudoun counties to restore service to all customers.
Curtis cautions that more power outages may occur and for customers to stay alert: “The ground is soaked. Tree roots could give way and cause more trees to fall on power lines. We may also have strong gusts of wind that could cause additional damage.”
Curtis reminds everyone to stay away from downed power lines. “There’s a lot of lines down on the ground. Don’t go outside at night if you don’t have to because you may walk on an energized line. Always assume a line is energized and deadly. Even walking on wet ground anywhere near a live line can be fatal. If you see one, call NOVEC at 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500 immediately!”
What to do if Power Goes Out
• Call NOVEC, or report the outage online at www.novec.com if you have computer access. The Outage Center provides estimated times for service restoration.
• Open freezers and refrigerators only when necessary.
• ONLY use portable generators, camp stoves, or grills outdoors to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Alternatively, heat food in a chafing dish or fondue pot over canned fuel.
NOVEC, headquartered in Manassas, Va., is a not-for-profit corporation that distributes electricity and energy services to approximately 150,000 customers in Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, and Clarke counties, and the City of Manassas Park. It is one of the largest electric distribution cooperatives in the nation. For more information, visit www.novec.com or call 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500.
This is a press release send directly from NOVEC and written by Priscilla Knight.
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