Electric News Releases - 1999

September 1, 1999

Restoration Efforts Continue Despite Unpredictable 'Dennis'

NORFOLK, Va. -- Tropical Storm Dennis continues to batter Virginia Power's southeastern service area Wednesday, moving closer to shore and causing scattered outages inland.

At 11 a.m., 850 Virginia Power customers in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chuckatuck and Williamsburg were without power because of Dennis' high winds. About 2,200 outages are reported along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which Virginia Power serves as North Carolina Power.

Forecasters predict another 36 hours of high winds and rain across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Company restoration efforts have been hampered by the wind and rain.

"Our line crews have had to make multiple returns to the same locations to 're-restore' service. We have already performed restoration work at more than 1,500 outage locations," said John Shenal, vice president-Distribution Operations. "Unfortunately, repeat outages will likely occur until Dennis weakens."

More than 120,000 customers have now been affected by Dennis-related service interruptions – more than 20,000 of them on the Outer Banks.

As rains subside, and winds continue to batter the coast, salt contamination has caused additional outages and blinking lights. These are caused when salt from ocean spray collects on power lines and equipment. The combination of salt and water can conduct electricity across insulators and cause equipment to fail. This is a common phenomenon in coastal areas. Company contract crews are using special equipment to "wash" exposed facilities.

Customers are asked to stay away from any power lines that may be downed by the storm and to report them and any outage by calling the company's toll-free number, 1-888-667-3000.

Virginia Power is the principal subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D), an energy company with headquarters in Richmond.

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