Electric News Releases

January 31, 2000
10 p.m. EST

Virginia Power Line Crews Make Steady Progress

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Power line crews continue to make steady, significant progress in restoring electric service to its customers affected by the Super Bowl Sunday ice storm. Service has now been restored to 225,000 customers who were without power.

As of 10 p.m., about 61,000 customers in and around Richmond remained without power. The utility's restoration team will continue to work throughout the night. In total, ice accumulation in the capital city affected as many as 285,000 customers.

"Virtually every tree in the Richmond region we encountered today was covered in ice," said Tom Hyman, senior vice president-Electric Distribution. "The warm temperatures thawed that ice and caused tree branches to snap back into place and, in many instances, come into contact with our power lines. Our line crews will continue to work 24-hours a day until every customer is reconnected."

"We thank our customers for their patience and understanding." Hyman said.

The company is asking its customers to:

• Stay away from all downed power lines.
• Report outages or downed lines through the company's toll free 1-888-667-3000 number.

Customers without power should:

• If possible, seek shelter with friends or relatives who do have power.
• Make sure they have a battery powered radio and flashlights on hand.
• Turn off all major appliances and electric heating systems to avoid overloading the electric system when power is restored.
• Use caution and follow directions carefully when using portable kerosene heaters.

Virginia Power serves nearly 2 million customers across the Commonwealth. In the Richmond-Petersburg-Hopewell region, the company has about 400,000 customers.

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

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