UPDATE: 650,000 Without Power In N Carolina, Virginia From Irene

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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