HIGHLAND SPRINGS, Va (WTVR) - More than 3,000 customers lost power for several hours early Wednesday morning, only hours before a winter blast is expected to hit Central Virginia.
According to Dominion Virginia Power, a re-routing device failure caused a wire to slip from the power lines. The wire fell onto Nine Mile Road, and knocked out power for more than six hours. Power was restored around 8 a.m.
Dominion said they expect the heavy, wet snow to cause problems for our power grid in Central Virginia. Trees and tree limbs, weighed down by the snow, cause power line failures during winter weather. Dominion said prolonged outages are possible if the forecasted accumulations come to fruition.
Dominion is apart of the Southeast Electric Exchange, a mutual aid agreement between several states in our area. Out-of-state crews have already headed to Central Virginia to help assist in restoration if needed. Dominion said winter storms with a significant footprint are a regional effort.
Customers that experience power outages are urged to report them immediately either using Dominion's mobile website, dom.com, or by calling 1-866-DOM-HELP.
