Dominion Virginia Power workers head to Alabama

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - Nearly 300 Dominion Virginia Power workers are on their way to Alabama to help restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Dennis.

While exactly what damage the Dominion Virginia Power crews and company contractors will be tackling for Alabama Power had not been settled JUly 11, it's not likely to be repaired overnight.

"The sense was a week, at least," said Mike Baumer, Dominion Virginia Power's supervisor for the mutual-aid operation.

Alabama Power reported almost 240,000 of its customers lost electric service as a result of Dennis, and 110,000 were still without power July 11.

"You have to approach a multiday event differently," Baumer said has he drove through a heavy rainstorm on Interstate 20 toward Birmingham, Alabama. "It's almost like a marathon. You have to pace yourself."

The 298 Dominion Virginia Power workers and contractors come from the company's central and eastern regions, according to spokesman David Botkins.

Traveling in about 50 utility trucks, the group includes 105 line workers, 20 damage assessors, five logistics-support workers, 118 line contractors and 50 tree contractors, Botkins said.

Dominion Virginia Power also has readied an additional 50 workers in its Northern Virginia region for Dennis duty if they are needed, he said.

Electric utilities have agreements to help each other out during emergencies, Botkins said. "We were on the receiving end of a lot of help when [Hurricane] Isabel hit us" in 2003, he said. "So we're always happy to reciprocate."

The company getting help picks up the cost for the emergency aid, Botkins said.

As Dennis moved north and became a tropical depression, it dumped 3 to 8 inches of rain over Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and was expected to continue to cause the threat of flooding and tornadoes as it stalled over the Ohio Valley.

About 500,000 were without power July 11, including 322,000 in Florida, where utilities have warned people they could be without electricity up to three weeks.

Dennis caused an estimated $1 billion to $2.5 billion in insured damage in the United States, according to a projection by AIR Worldwide Corp. of Boston, an insurance risk-modeling company.

Although Dennis' low-pressure center will remain to the distant west of Virginia, the National Weather Service said, its huge circulation will draw moisture and energy over the Old Dominion, bringing the chance of rain through the week.