2nd UPDATE: 862,000 Without Power In N Carolina, Virginia From Irene
August 27 2011 - 5:05PM
Dow Jones News
Hurricane Irene so far has left more than 862,000 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.
Dominion Resources Inc. (D) said Saturday afternoon that more
than 584,000 of its customers had lost power in and near Richmond,
in southeastern Virginia and in North Carolina.
Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) reported around 278,000 customers
were without power, with most service disruptions in coastal North
Carolina. The utility saw outages jump in the Raleigh area as the
massive storm swept through the region.
Utility crews in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions such
as Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) and Consolidated
Edison Inc. (ED) were preparing as Hurricane Irene was moving 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.
Dominion 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 Cassandra Sweet and Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires;
415-269-4446; cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com
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