NOVEC is working to restore power to customers

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, contract, and out-of-state crews have restored power to more than 20,000 NOVEC customers since Monday morning, December 9, when ice-ladened trees and branches fell on power lines. Crews worked through the night. At 10:30 a.m. on December 10, approximately 1,600 customers were without power.

“We are working as quickly and safely as possible,” says Larry Shaffer, vice president of System Operations. “Snow is making our task more difficult today, but our crews are determined to get the lights and heat back on for our customers as soon as possible.”

Shaffer cautions that some customers may lose power today as heavy wet snow coats trees and branches already encased in ice.

“We’ve got a double whammy of back-to-back storms,” Shaffer says. “Monday’s ice storm weakened trees and branches, including those outside of NOVEC’s right-of-way corridors. Adding snow could bring more trees down on power lines today.”

Shaffer notes that many of the outage locations are in the woods and remote areas: “It’s more of a challenge for crews to access these areas on foot to locate and remove trees and branches from power lines, and then reenergize the lines.” 

Customers can see an outage summary on NOVEC’s website at http://stormcenter.novec.com  .

NOVEC warns customers not to go anywhere near a downed power line because it could be energized and deadly.

Also, customers should never run power generators indoors because they could create deadly carbon monoxide. A large generator should only be connected to the power grid by a qualified electrician because an incorrectly connected generator could damage a home or kill line technicians who are working on the system.

What to Do if Power Goes Out

·    Report an outage to NOVEC by calling 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500. The IVR system will provide updates. Customers with access to the Internet can report outages at http://www.novec.com on computers and http://www.novec.com/mobile on smartphones. They can also use NOVEC’s smartphone application available at http://www.novec.com/contact_us/apps.cfm Do NO.T report outages via social media because those sites aren’t connected to the reporting system.

Open freezers and refrigerators only when necessary.

Open exterior doors only when necessary.

Use camp stoves or grills outdoors to avoid carbon-monoxide poisoning.