Richmond, U.S.A. — Dominion Virginia Power has restored power to more than 220,000 customers affected by Hurricane Sandy even as storm conditions linger. Crews are conducting detailed damage assessments and restoring power to critical services. The company is working closely with state and local officials to protect public safety and health during the multi-day effort.

“Dominion employees, retirees, contractors and crews from other companies are fully engaged in this effort, and work will continue around the clock until power is restored to every customer affected by this storm,” said Rodney Blevins, vice president of electric distribution operations.

“We applaud Dominion Virginia Power not only for an unprecedented level of collaboration and cooperation with the state and localities during this storm, but also for already having restored power to more than 68 percent of the Dominion customers affected by outages,” said Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

The powerful storm system consisting of Hurricane Sandy and a severe winter storm brought hurricane-strength winds and heavy rain to the eastern United States and much of Virginia. Heavy snowfall affected western sections of the commonwealth.

Weather is expected to continue to be a challenge today for much of the company’s service area, posing a potential for additional outages to develop and affect restoration progress. Dominion is now conducting a complete assessment of storm damage to accurately understand the scope and duration of work to be done.

“We have made substantial investments in our electric distribution system, and we are pleased with how well the system has performed during this challenging event,” Blevins said. “Our significant investments in infrastructure and our tree-trimming program are helping minimize the storm’s impact on our customers.”

Safety Remains Paramount

“Please stay away from downed lines and anything touching them – assume they are energized, and report them ” Blevins said. “We also ask that you help protect our linemen when you see them on the roadside making emergency repairs by moving over from the lane nearest the workers or by slowing down until you pass the site of the repairs.”

Customers may report an outage through the company’s mobile website at www.dom.com by typing in the account number or phone number on record with the company and the last four digits of the account holder’s Social Security number, PIN or federal tax ID number. Reporting an outage promptly – even if neighbors have done so – speeds the restoration process.

Follow safe operating procedures for electric generators. Never operate one inside your home or in an enclosed space, such as a garage. Do not connect portable generators directly to the electrical system of your home. Electricity could flow backward onto Dominion’s power lines and endanger lives.

Either have a qualified electrician perform the work or plug appliances directly into the generator using the proper-sized extension cords. Exhaust fumes contain carbon monoxide and can be deadly, so run your generator outside with proper ventilation. Store the fuel for your generator safely.

The highest priority for power restoration is always given to public safety and emergency facilities such as hospitals, emergency 911 call centers, and municipal water pumping stations. A video description of the storm restoration process is available online.

Image Courtesy of  Dominion Virginia Power

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Richmond, U.S.A. — The Telly Awards has named the Science Museum of Virginia as a Silver winner in the 33rd Annual Telly Awards for their piece entitled Question Power. With nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, this is truly an honor.

Question Power is dynamic video presentation that encourages guests to take a real time look at the world’s energy consumption, alternative energy sources and new developments that will power our world in the future. The video was produced by Sanan Media and underwritten by a $500,000 grant from Dominion Virginia Power and The Dominion Foundation.

The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films. Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world.

For its 33rd season, The Telly Awards once again joined forces with YouTube to give the public the power to view and rate videos submitted as part of the People’s Telly Awards. In addition to recognition from the Silver Telly Council, the judging panel that selects the Telly Awards winners, the Internet community helps decide the People’s Telly Awards winners.

A prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work – entries do not compete against each other – rather entries are judged against a high standard of merit. Less than 10% of entries are chosen as Winners of the Silver Telly, our highest honor. Approximately 25% of entries are chosen as Winners of the Bronze Telly.

“The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. “The Science Museum of Virginia’s accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production.”

“There was so much misinformation present out there regarding energy that we wanted to create something simple yet very powerful and truthful,” said Kaya Sanan of Sanan Media.

“We’re delighted that Question Power is receiving critical recognition that reinforces the reaction we have had from our audiences. We believe the piece makes a powerful case for the increasingly important role that energy will have in our lives,” said Richard Conti, Chief Wonder Officer at the Science Museum ofVirginia.

To find out more about the Telly Awards visit www.tellyawards.com.

The Science Museum of Virginia’s mission is Inspiring Virginians to enrich their lives through science. For more about the Science Museum of Virginia, please visit www.smv.org.

The Dominion Foundation is dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies, including Dominion Virginia Power and Dominion North Carolina Power. For more information about Dominion, visit the company’s website at www.dom.com.

For more about Sanan Media, www.sanan.com.

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Richmond, U.S.A - In keeping with its long-standing history of military support, Dominion Virginia Power and its employees will recognize Memorial Day a little early this year by participating in a one-day, 10-state volunteer effort to help improve the lives of active military troops, veterans, and their families.

On Wednesday, May 23, hundreds of employees will take part in Dominion Energizing Communities, volunteering their time and skills to assist 26 nonprofit organizations that serve the military.

“What is special about this effort is that employees themselves selected the projects and recipient organizations,” said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Many of our employees are veterans or friends and family of veterans, and they personally know the needs in their communities and have chosen to help address them. This is just one of the many ways Dominion thanks those who have honorably served our country.”

Supported by a $26,000 donation from The Dominion Foundation, volunteers will help organizations such as Pace Enterprises in Morgantown, W.Va., where they will landscape the Operation Welcome Home rehabilitation and support center; Honor Flight network, to support the work of a welcoming committee for veterans visiting war memorials and monuments in Washington, D.C.; and Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio, where they will plant a vegetable garden and improve the grounds of the Cleveland Veterans Resource Center that provides transitional housing.

The 26 organizations each will receive $1,000 to be supplemented by company volunteers who will complete the work in one day. The other recipient organizations are in Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Click to see the list.

Dominion has a strong history of supporting the military and veterans. On Veterans Day 2011, the company donated $250,000 to aid homeless, wounded veterans and military families. It is also participating in the Troops to Energy Jobs pilot program that links thousands of future job openings in the energy industry with troops leaving military service (watch video). And most recently, for the third year in a row Dominion earned a place on Military Times EDGE magazine’s annual “Best for Vets 2012: Employers” list. Dominion currently employs 1,300 veterans in 14 states.

Dominion is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,500 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.

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