September 28, 2003
1:30 p.m.

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Virginia Power has restored service to more than 90 percent of its customers who lost power because of Hurricane Isabel.

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, the company had restored power to more than 1.6 million customers, or about 91 percent, surpassing its goal of having 90 percent back on by late Sunday night. Of the 1.8 million customers affected, less than 158,000 remained without power.

Isabel affected about 96 percent of customers in Tidewater, 95 percent in Central Virginia and 69 percent of customers in Northern Virginia. Virtually all customers should be restored by Friday, Oct. 3.

"We continue to make great progress in restoring electric service to our customers," said Jimmy D. Staton, senior vice president-Operations. "We restored service to 70,000 customers on Saturday and are focused on continuing the momentum, with safety as our top priority."

The restoration work currently under way is expected to take more time to complete than previous efforts, as utility crews continue to face challenges of cutting trees that have toppled across power lines, installing poles and crossarms, and hoisting heavy transformers. The company has been working around-the-clock to ensure that sufficient supplies and materials are available and ready for crews restoring power in the field.

Among other highlights:

• Dominion's restoration workforce has grown to more than 12,000, reflecting the addition of mutual aid crews released from Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
• The company has dedicated 1,470 crews to restoring electric service in the hard-hit areas of Hampton Roads, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Wakefield and Smithfield. It also has dedicated 1,600 crews to restoring service in the city of Richmond and the Midlothian area.
• Customers still without power should be able to get individual estimated restoration dates by calling the Dominion Customer Service Center at 1-888-667-3000. The automated service has a recording to help walk customers through the process.

Dominion remains concerned about customer safety, especially from downed power lines and improper use of generators. Residents are urged to stay at least 10 feet away from downed power lines.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a diversified and integrated energy portfolio that includes 24,000 megawatts of generation and 6.3 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. Dominion also serves 5 million retail energy customers in nine states.

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