RICHMOND, Va - Dominion Virginia Power is keeping
close watch on Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley and ensuring repair
crews will be ready to respond to anticipated heavy rain and possible associated
winds.
"Our crews have been notified to be prepared
for storm restoration work and we've checked our inventory of replacement equipment
and other material," said Jimmy Staton, senior vice president-Delivery
Operations. "We anticipate potentially heavy rainfall, moderately strong
winds and some flooding."
Dominion reminds its customers to call
toll free 1-888-667-3000 to report outages or downed lines. The company also
reminds customers to stay away from downed power lines and consider them extremely
dangerous.
The company's outage reporting system, which
consists of operators as well as a computer-powered voice response unit, can
handle 100,000 calls an hour. Using the voice response unit is the quickest
way to report an outage or downed power lines.
When outages occur, Dominion crews are assigned
to work on problems that affect the largest number of customers first, with
emergency facilities receiving expedited attention.
Dominion urges its customers to pay attention
to weather reports and if appropriate take common-sense steps to prepare for
possible outages:
Have a good supply of fresh batteries for flashlights,
clocks and radios.
Have several gallons of freshwater on hand. This is especially
important for those who rely on well water.
If lightning occurs, disconnect cable lines from TVs and
stereos and phone lines from computers. This will help prevent damage to these
expensive items.
Do not hook portable
generators directly to the electrical system of your home. Electricity
could backfeed into power lines and endanger repair crews. Either have a qualified
electrician perform that work or plug directly into the generator with the
proper-sized extension cords. Remember to keep any generator properly ventilated
to avoid a build up of carbon monoxide fumes.
Dominion also reminds customers that if they
have health problems or are dependent on home medical equipment, they may need
to make arrangements in advance for shelter some place other than their homes.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers
of energy with an energy portfolio of about 25,500 megawatts of generation.
Dominion also serves about 5 million retail energy customers in nine states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
