December 6, 2013
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative Storm Preparations
With the forecasted arrival of severe weather in portions of Virginia, Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) is preparing to respond to outages due to potential ice loading on power lines and on adjacent trees growing outside of the 40-foot right of way.
Field crews and equipment are ready to go if necessary. Dispatchers and field supervisors are prepared to coordinate power restoration efforts. Member service representatives are available to answer member calls and enter outage tickets. Crews from adjoining cooperatives will stand by, ready to provide assistance if necessary.
CVEC members may report outages by calling 800-367-2832 and using the automated reporting system. Cooperative members may also visit www.mycvec.com on a computer or a smart phone to report an outage online. Each reported loss of power will be entered into the CVEC Outage Management System, where it will be combined with other reported outages to allow dispatchers to identify fault locations and to send crews to where they will do the most good.
Outage updates will be available through the local media, on the CVEC Facebook page, and at www.mycvec.com. The Cooperative website also features an outage map with the number of members affected within each substation service area.
Co-op members are advised to take appropriate measures that include preparing for an outage and creating an outage kit. CVEC also requests that members turn off major appliances after a loss of power, in order to help with cold load pick up…the point when power is restored and there is a major burden on the distribution system.
For safety sake, anyone that encounters a down-power line, stay clear, even if there is no obvious sparking. Do not attempt to cut trees on power lines. The tree may be conducting electricity. In addition, once cut, the power line may launch the tree in any direction. Please leave restoration work for the trained linemen.
If the storm does result in significant power outages, CVEC crews will begin repairs along major lines closest to the local substation, then work their way out along the primary lines, clearing outages as they go in order to restore service to as many members as soon as possible and to permit power to flow to the end of the distribution lines. Other personnel will be creating damage assessments, while other crews may be dedicated to service restoration in local neighborhoods or in clusters of home.
Look for updates from CVEC in the event of and for the duration of significant power outages.
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit, electric utility serving the rural portions of 14 Virginia counties.
