Dominion Energy Virginia undergrounds 2,000 miles of power lines to prepare for hurricane season
With the Atlantic hurricane season on its way, Dominion Energy Virginia has been busy getting prepared and shoring up its grid.
The company recently finished burying 2,000 miles of previously overhead power lines as part of its Strategic Underground Program. The company plans to bury several thousand additional miles of overhead lines in the coming years.
“We launched this program a decade ago after finding that a significant number of storm-related power outages were occurring in a relatively small number of areas,” Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said. “By burying the lines in these outage-prone areas, we’re not only reducing the number of outages, but we’re also shortening how long it takes to get the power back on.”
The program is one of several the company has launched in recent years to limit power outages and make the grid more resilient. Another is the Mainfeeder Hardening program, which involves replacing older poles with taller, stronger ones that are rooted deeper in the ground and spaced closer together. The new poles are built with fiberglass cross-arms, which help prevent fallen trees or limbs from bringing down the entire pole. Dominion has hardened over 265 miles of power lines through this program since 2019, with the ultimate goal of hardening 1,000 miles by 2030.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30, is expected to be active, so Dominion Energy is reminding customers to report a power outage and track your restoration time; stay away from downed power lines; charge your devices before the storm; properly connect your generator if you have on; and prepare food, water and emergency supplies.
