UPDATE: 650,000 Without Power In N Carolina, Virginia From Irene
August 27 2011 - 3:00PM
Dow Jones News
Hurricane Irene so far has left more than 650,000 utility
customers without power in North Carolina and Virginia as high
winds keep line crews from assessing initial storm damage, two of
the region's largest utilities said Saturday.
Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) reported around 274,000 customers
without power concentrated in coastal North Carolina. The utility
has seen outages jump in the Raleigh area as the massive storm
stalls over the region. To the north, Dominion Resources Inc. (D)
reported about 380,000 customers in northern North Carolina and
southern Virginia without power.
Utilities crews in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions such
as Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) and Consolidated
Edison Inc. (ED) are preparing as Hurricane Irene moves up the
coast as a Category 1 storm carrying maximum sustained winds of 85
miles per hour. Consolidated Edison said it's considering shutting
off power in all low-lying areas of New York City as a precaution
against storm surges.
In North Carolina, high winds kept line workers from starting to
assess the damage from Irene and make repairs to restore power.
Progress Energy said some restoration work was being done in the
Wilmington area in the south of the state.
"We are not able to get out in force," Progress spokesman Mike
Hughes said.
The utility has not shuttered any of its power plants. As a
precaution, Progress reduced power output at its Brunswick nuclear
plant located near Southport, N.C., but the storm has passed the
facility. Progress has had some outages along its high-voltage
transmission line system, but hasn't yet gotten a chance to assess
it for possible damage, Hughes said.
Although the number of outages is likely to grow, Hurricane
Irene has affected mostly coastal areas. Hurricane Fran in 1996 cut
right through the center of Progress's service territory in the
Carolinas knocking out power to 800,000 customers, Hughes said.
As for Dominion, the utility did not shut any of its power
plants ahead of the storm. The company's Surry nuclear power plant
in southeastern Virginia continues to operate, while its North Anna
nuclear plant in central Virginia remains shut following an
earthquake earlier this week, said Karl Neddenien, a spokesman for
Dominion.
Both Dominion and Progress have bulked up the size of their line
crews bringing in workers and equipment from out of state to begin
restoring power once wind speeds slow.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-253-8906;
mark.peters@dowjones.com
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