NORFOLK, Va. — While localities across Hampton Roads are preparing for this weekend's anticipated storm, so is Dominion Energy.
Cherise Newsome, the regional spokesperson for the energy company, said storm preparations happen all year long.
"Dominion Energy has meteorologists on staff, and they provide weather forecasts that help us plan and prepare for the storm,” said Newsome.
On Thursday, crews cleared away trees around Hampton Roads.
“Trees and tree limbs are the number one cause of power outages," said Newsome. “In a storm, so what our crews do before a storm is to trim trees and to cut trees.”
But most importantly, keeping people safe is a high priority for Dominion Energy.
“If you see a downed line, do not touch it. Do not just assume that it’s a phone line or an internet cable line. It could be, in fact, energized, and we do not want anyone to get hurt.”
Once the storm passes, crews will begin to clean up the debris. Newsome wants people to be patient as crews work long days to restore power to critical facilities like hospitals and law enforcement agencies.
“The other thing is we want people to be prepared, so the same way we prepare, we want you to be prepared to stock up on extra batteries and flashlights,” said Newsome. “These are things we take for granted, for in the event of a storm, they can really come in handy.”
Dominion Energy urges people call 1-866-DOM-HELP if they see a downed powerline. Newsome also said people can download the app to monitor and report outages.