Contact: Priscilla Knight, 703-392-1580, pknight@novec.com
NORTHERN VIRGINIA—Legislation enacted by the 2007 session of the Virginia General Assembly calls for a sales tax holiday on certain emergency preparation equipment and products. This year, the Virginia Department of Taxation has directed retailers to exempt qualifying products from state sales tax from May 25, 2009, to May 31, 2009.
The following emergency products qualify for the sales tax holiday, and the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative urges area residents to prepare for possible storms and power outages by having them on hand:
- Flashlights and battery-powered lanterns
- New batteries for flashlights and radios
- NOAA weather radio or other battery-powered radio
- Corded landline phone, or make sure cell phones are charged
- Cell phone batteries
- Non-electric food storage containers
- Ice packs for coolers
- Manual can opener
- Bottled water
- Water storage containers
- Gas or diesel fuel containers
- Fire extinguishers
- Smoke detectors
- Carbon dioxide detectors
- Duct tape
- Waterproof sheeting
- First aid kit
- Portable generator
To qualify for the sales tax holiday, portable generators must cost $1,000 or less. Generators are available from NOVEC Solutions at Emergency Generators and from many other retailers.
Other products must cost $60 or less. For details, visit Virginia’s sales tax holiday information center at www.tax.virginia.gov/salestaxholiday.
NOVEC also recommends having enough prescription and over-the-counter medicines, pet food, and baby care items on hand.
NOVEC customers are advised to post NOVEC’s telephone number, 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500, in an easy-to-find place. To expedite the outage reporting and restoration process, make sure NOVEC has the home’s current phone number. To report a new or changed number, call NOVEC, with the account number handy, and push or say “2,” then select option “3” and follow directions.
Before an imminent storm or hurricane, NOVEC urges customers to:
- Get inside a building and stay away from windows.
- Turn off heating and air conditioning systems and electric ranges. After power is restored, wait five to ten minutes before turning on appliances and heating/cooling systems.
- Unplug sensitive electronic equipment such as TVs, DVD/VCR players, microwave ovens, and computers to protect them from surges and fluctuations that may occur during the storm and when power is restored.
