Dominion Energy calls reinforcements to coastal regions ahead of Thursdays storm
From southeast Virginia to coastal North Carolina, crews from across the Commonwealth are driving towards where power outages are anticipated.
'We actually are moving crews from our northern Virginia region and our central Virginia region, like in Richmond, down to the eastern region of Virginia, like Hampton Roads, as well as to the Outer Banks, even eastern Elizabeth City,' explained Cherise Newsome with Dominion Energy. 'We want to make sure we have all hands on deck to prepare for whatever Hurricane Erin brings our way.'
Those crews will be handling outages in cooperation with other power companies who operate in the Outer Banks.
Newsome said incoming crews will temporarily be stationed outside harder hit zones for a strategic purpose.
'We do have to keep that equipment away from those areas that are likely to get flooded because it could damage that equipment,' she said. 'They're just a stone's throw away, but they are strategically kept at staging areas that are less susceptible to coastal flooding.'
According to Newsome, preparations for storms happen long before they're even on the radar. Hardening the power grid and improving technology are just a couple of ways Dominion works to keep the lights on when storms hit.
'The operations crew works remotely to identify ports on power lines using power line sensors. They can detect faults, whether that's a tree branch or something else, that's causing an interrupted or an interruption in the flow of power,' she explained. 'What they do is detect that fault, and they can section off the trouble spot and then reroute the flow of electricity.'
It's likely customers may see an impact to their power services due to the storm. If that does happen, Dominion Energy is asking that you stay patient with line workers who are working to help you along the way.
Dominion also wants to remind customers that although they can better detect outages, contacting them and providing context to what you're seeing helps crews repair the issue faster.
'We do ask that you report your outage, using the app or by calling 866-DOM-HELP. Then, you will be able to track the status of your repair. That'll help you know if it'll be a few hours and you might want to stick it out, or if it could take longer,' Newsome said.
Stay with WAVY.com for more local news, weather and traffic.
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