RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Virginia Power is joining with utilities across the nation and providing skilled workers to help power companies in the Northeast recover from severe damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and a major winter storm system.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121102/PH04901 )

"Our nation's electric utilities respond immediately and comprehensively when a call for help goes out from one of our peers," said Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. "We are now able to help utilities in their time of need, just as our customers benefitted from outside assistance when hurricanes Isabel and Irene and other major storms brought catastrophic damage to us."

Dominion has offered nearly 1,500 skilled workers to assist in the restoration effort in New York and New Jersey, including linemen, tree trimmers, storm damage patrollers and underground cable workers. The company also is sending its Mobile Command Center, bucket trucks and supporting vehicles.

Using a process called "mutual aid," utilities that need the help are matched up with the available workers who have the appropriate skills. The result is a massive workforce that can be mustered to assist when disaster strikes.

"This is the largest deployment of mutual aid resources in our company's history," said Koonce. "Those in the northbound contingent will do their best to assist people in need, and those who remain here will keep the lights on for our customers." Dominion crews and vehicles will leave Friday morning. They will provide assistance until they are no longer needed.

By Thursday evening, Dominion had restored electric service to all 322,000 of its customers affected by the hurricane and winter storm.

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,400 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

Follow us on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/DomVAPower. 'Like' us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dominionvirginiapower.

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power