RICHMOND — As the Atlantic hurricane season begins, Dominion Energy announced it has finished burying more than 2,500 miles of the most outage-prone power lines in Virginia, including neighborhoods in Yorktown.
According to Dominion Energy, burying the lines reduces power outages and restoration time during storms.
The work is part of the company’s Strategic Underground Program, which was launched in 2014. Dominion Energy said the program targets areas with the most outages from fallen trees, the leading cause of power outages in Virginia. The company plans to bury thousands more miles in the coming years.
Dominion said the results so far are very positive, and the average outage time for customers with buried lines has fallen from 11 hours to just 2 minutes. In many areas, average restoration time for all customers has been cut in half during major storms such as tropical storms and hurricanes, it added.
“We’re focused on delivering more value for our customers every day,” said Ed Baine, President of Utility Operations and Dominion Energy Virginia. “It’s personal for us because we know power is important for everything in our customers’ daily lives. We’ve made a lot of progress in the most outage-prone areas, and our customers are seeing real results. They’re experiencing fewer storm-related outages, and their power is being restored sooner. The results will continue getting better as we make more progress in the years to come.”
The company said its Mainfeeder Hardening program is further reducing storm-related power outages by replacing thousands of older utility poles and cross arms across the company’s system. The average outage time for customers served by hardened mainfeeder lines has fallen by 30%.
Since 2019, the program says it has replaced more than 8,000 utility poles and 9,500 cross arms along more than 265 miles of mainfeeder lines, with a goal of reaching 1,000 miles by 2030.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 and is expected to be active. Dominion Energy is encouraging customers to prepare with the following tips:
- Download the Dominion Energy mobile app to report outages and track restoration during storms.
- Stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines and report them by calling 866-DOM-HELP.
- Fully charge electronic devices before storms and consider portable battery packs.
- Get generators serviced before storm season and ensure proper ventilation.
- Stock up on essentials like water, non-perishable food, flashlights and medications.
- More preparedness tips are available here.
