power outage | ALXnow

Dominion Energy says it will invest millions in Alexandria to prevent future outages

Published March 23, 2022 at 1:15PM

Five months after a 16-hour power outage disrupted Del Ray’s Art On The Avenue festival, Dominion Energy says it will invest $17 million over the next three years to improve reliability in the city.

That was the gist of an hour-long update from Dominion to City Council Tuesday night (March 22), where Bill Murray, Dominion’s senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications, informed City Council that the energy giant plans on spending $3.4 million this year, $8.5 million in 2023 and $5.2 million in 2023 on 20 “incremental reliability investments” in areas affected by outages in Alexandria, and will begin planning with city staff next month.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published January 7, 2022 at 3:30PM

The George Washington National Masonic Memorial under the snow, Jan. 4, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

The big story this week was snow.

A snowstorm on Monday had the city working at clearing roads and putting weather-affected services back into play. There was a smaller dusting of snow last night, though it didn’t have nearly the same level of impact.

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Comcast working on fixing widespread internet service outages caused by fire and snowstorm

By Vernon Miles

Published January 4, 2022 at 2:50PM | Updated January 4, 2022 at 3:39PM

Xfinity outage map, photo via Comcast

(Updated 3:40 p.m.) Internet service is down for many Alexandrians as Comcast works to get its network up and running again after yesterday’s snowstorm.

According to the Xfinity outage map, there are several thousand Alexandria affected by the ongoing internet outage, most of them in Del Ray and Arlandria.

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Power outage hits North Ridge neighborhood as weather topples trees and power lines

By Vernon Miles

Published January 3, 2022 at 1:20PM

Power outage in North Ridge on 1/3/2022, photo via Dominion Power

There have been sporadic power outages throughout the region during today’s snowstorm, but the North Ridge neighborhood is the hardest hit in Alexandria with an estimated 1,665 residents without power.

The Dominion Power website says a work crew has been dispatched and the cause of the outage is under investigation but it’s almost certain the heavy snowfall today is likely to blame.

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Apology? Alexandria City Council wants restitution from Dominion Energy for ‘Art On The Avenue’ power outage

By James Cullum

Published October 27, 2021 at 2:30PM | Updated October 27, 2021 at 4:10PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City Council wants more than answers from Dominion Energy for a recent power outage on the busiest day of the year in Del Ray — they want restitution.

After a 2020 hiatus, the weather was perfect for Art On The Avenue on October 2 along Mount Vernon Avenue. But a 16-hour power outage that morning ended up shuttering many businesses throughout the festival, which brought an estimated 50,000 visitors to Del Ray.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published October 8, 2021 at 3:30PM

Dominion employees (image via Dominion Energy/Facebook)

A power outage on Saturday set off a week of concerns about city infrastructure, even as the city was ranked one of the best small cities in the country.

The power outage that derailed the Art on the Avenue celebration is just the latest in a long chain of outages that have hit Alexandria over the last year, giving the lie to Dominion Energy’s claim that a large outage almost exactly a year ago was a fluke. Mayor Justin Wilson has previously called the state of frequent outages unacceptable and urged Dominion to do more to upgrade its infrastructure.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published October 7, 2021 at 5:00AM

A runner along the Potomac Trail in Potomac Yard (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

River Farm gets taken off the market — “Local residents cheered over email and text messages Wednesday after learning that the American Horticultural Society’s board — or what remained of it — decided not to sell its 27-acre property overlooking the Potomac River.” [Alexandria Living]

Northern Virginia AFL-CIO presents award to Rep. Don Beyer — “When the bus drivers in Alexandria – the DASH workers (who had been trying to unionize over decades, actually), Alexandria City hired a union buster and Congressman Beyer stepped in and was very forceful with his language in making the city aware that the DASH workers had a right to organize.” [Zebra]

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Alexandria considers options after local businesses crushed by ‘Art On The Avenue’ power outage

By James Cullum

Published October 4, 2021 at 9:30AM

The power went out on the busiest day of the year in Del Ray on Saturday (October 2).

An estimated 50,000 people descended on Mount Vernon Avenue for the 26th annual Art On The Avenue festival that day, but many restaurants and other businesses were forced to shut down due to the outage.

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Art On The Avenue festival continues despite Del Ray power outage

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2021 at 12:30PM | Updated October 2, 2021 at 6:58PM

A power outage in Del Ray has shut down a number of businesses, although the annual Art on the Avenue festival today (October 2) is still happening. The event is one of the biggest events in the city and draws tens of thousands of people.

“We have a right to expect more from @DominionEnergy,” tweeted Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. “Plunging a central business district into darkness for the better part of their biggest day of the year, with no inclement weather, is UNACCEPTABLE.”

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Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for Alexandria, Dominion Energy warns of potential outages

By James Cullum

Published July 29, 2021 at 5:15PM

Walking in the summer rain near the Torpedo Factory Art Center along the Alexandria waterfront (staff photo by James Cullum)

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch that will remain in effect until 9 p.m.

This is the second evening in a row of rough weather, as a brief storm knocked out power for thousands Wednesday night. Consequently, Dominion Energy is warning of potential outages tonight.

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West End high-rise apartment building evacuated after power outage

By James Cullum

Published July 12, 2021 at 12:35PM

An electrical malfunction prompted the evacuation of the 17-story apartment building at 6060 Tower Court in the West End on Monday, July 12, 2021. (Courtesy Google Maps)

An electrical malfunction has prompted the required evacuation of a 17-story apartment building in the West End.

The power went out at Key Towers at 6060 Tower Court shortly before 5 a.m., and the city’s DASH bus service is helping transport evacuated residents to a cooling center at Patrick Henry Recreation Center, which is just over two miles away. There are 140 units in the 1960s-era building and Monday’s temperature is expected to reach the mid-90s.