Hampton Roads residents woke up to another day of power outages this week, as Dominion Energy crews worked around the clock to restore electricity knocked out by salt buildup from last week's nor'easter. Outage totals swung wildly across the region, peaking above 20,000 customers on Saturday before dropping to a few thousand by Sunday, though exact counts varied depending on when and where they were measured.
Salt Buildup Blamed for Widespread Damage
According to Dominion, salt buildup from last week's nor'easter is the main reason for the outages, as reported by WAVY.com. “Dominion Energy's crews are working around the clock to restore power as soon as possible,” the utility said, according to the same report. Dominion crews from across the state were brought to Hampton Roads to help speed up restoration efforts, the station noted.
Saturday saw peak outage numbers of more than 20,000 customers across the region, a figure that dropped to just a few thousand by Sunday, per the station's reporting. Separately, pilotonline.com reported that about 20,000 Dominion customers across Hampton Roads were without power on Saturday, with more than 18,000 of those in Norfolk alone as of 1 p.m. that day. The outlet also reported that about 1,500 customers in Virginia Beach, 1,500 in Chesapeake and 600 in Newport News were without power that same day.
Numbers Kept Shifting Through the Weekend
Figures on exactly how many customers remained in the dark later Saturday varied by source. WTKR reported that as of 7:45 p.m. Saturday, about 4,800 customers were without power, down from roughly 20,000 earlier in the day, with most outages by then centered in Chesapeake and additional customers affected in Virginia Beach and parts of northeastern North Carolina. By contrast, WAVY reported that as of 3 p.m. Sunday, 8,300 people were still without power across Hampton Roads, broken down as about 400 customers in Chesapeake, 1,100 in Newport News, 5,700 in Norfolk and 500 in Virginia Beach.
Dominion said outages could fluctuate and that restoration would likely continue into the evening, according to pilotonline.com's Saturday report. By Sunday, the utility said rain had helped but hadn't fully solved the problem. “While today's rain has helped, it has not been the steady downpour that we need to wash off all the salt,” Dominion said, per WTKR's reporting.
Crews Working Through the Night
Crews were working through the night and into Monday, replacing salt-damaged equipment and installing new power poles, the same outlet reported. Dominion said it brought in additional crews from other service regions across the state to help speed restoration, according to WTKR. The utility is replacing and upgrading damaged equipment as part of the ongoing effort, the station's reporting noted.
Part of Norfolk International Airport also lost power amid the outages, though pilotonline.com reported that power has now been restored and flights were not affected. Dominion urged residents to steer clear of any downed lines, damaged equipment, sparks or electrical fires. “Do not go near it. Call 911. Call us at 866-DOM-HELP,” the utility said, according to WAVY's reporting.
