Dominion Energy is gearing up for potential outages as severe weather hits Sunday, urging residents to charge their devices ahead of possible power disruptions.
NORFOLK, Va. — Dominion Energy is preparing for outages ahead of severe weather on Sunday.
Officials told 13News Now they expect some operational impacts but are not expecting any major impacts.
“We think we can get people’s power up quickly and without any major issues tomorrow. We are not expecting this to be a multi-day event,” said Tim Eberly, Dominion Energy senior communications specialist.
The severe weather poses a threat to trees and power lines.
“We are looking at wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour, and that can be a little bit problematic because tree limbs and trees falling on power lines are our primary calls for outages,” Eberly said.
Dominion Energy said its crews do not work when winds are 35 miles per hour or higher.
“Some of our work crews may have to wait until winds subside before they can handle or address a particular power outage,” Eberly explained.
Dominion Energy advises residents to be prepared and have all their devices charged in case of a power outage.
“It isn’t a bad idea for folks to fully charge their devices, their laptops, their cell phones just in case they might be one of the households or businesses impacted by possible trouble,” Eberly said.
Residents are advised to stay away from downed power lines due to the safety risk posed by live wires.
“What we want folks to remember is if they see a downed power line, to assume that it’s electrified and to stay 30 feet away from it and to contact Dominion Energy and we will take it from there,” said Eberly.
To report a power outage or a downed power line, call Dominion Energy at 866-366-4357 or report it online on the Dominion Energy website.