Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, customerservice@novec.com
NORTHERN VIRGINIA —Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative tree and line crews are marshalling all their efforts to reconnect approximately 2,050 customers who have been without power since a sudden storm on Friday night, June 29, knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses in the region, including 37,000 in NOVEC territory. The Cooperative has restored power to 95 percent of these customers. NOVEC is working around the clock to have everyone back on line before July 4.
The Co-op has crews working at outage locations in Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, and Stafford counties, and the City of Manassas Park, but it has sent extra crews to Loudoun County where the most damage occurred. NOVEC has about 1700 Loudoun County customers without power.
“Loudoun was really hit hard,” says Larry Shaffer, NOVEC system operation manager. “The storm almost decimated Dominion Virginia Power’s lines that feed two of our substations near Hillsboro and Lovettsville as well as our lines that go from these substations to Co-op customers. While Dominion repaired their lines, our tree crews removed trees from lines to prepare for an army of line tech crews. After Dominion finished their repairs yesterday, we sent in that army to replace broken utility poles and reconnect power lines. Now we’re racing the clock to get service restored to our customers as soon as possible.”
Line and tree crews from as far away as Georgia are helping NOVEC crews restore power.
Shaffer gives a lot of credit to the men and women who are working in the fields in hot weather. “Imagine working outdoors when the heat index soars to 110 degrees!” Shaffer exclaims. “If that weren’t bad enough, teams must work with dangerous chainsaws and high-voltage power lines while wearing heavy and hot protective gear. They’ve had to wade into woods of fallen trees, along with poison ivy, snakes, and nasty insects. This is not work for the faint-of-heart. These folks have worked tirelessly overtime to reconnect our customers. They deserve a lot of credit and thanks.”
Customers with Internet access can track restoration progress at http://stormcenter.novec.com/index.cfm.
NOVEC warns everyone to heed safety. Downed power lines and trees touching the lines are extremely dangerous and should never be touched. If anyone sees a downed power line, report its location immediately to NOVEC by calling 703-335-0500 or toll free at 1-888-335-0500.
What to do if Power Goes Out
- Call NOVEC 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500, 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.
- Heat food indoors in a chafing dish or fondue pot over canned fuel.
