Lost Power After a Storm

Storm-related power loss in Northern Virginia is more common than people realize. Dominion Energy's grid is generally reliable but the overhead-line architecture in most NoVA neighborhoods is vulnerable to tree damage during wind events. Every fall and winter we run a wave of post-storm calls, and they fall into three categories.

First category: utility-side outage. The grid took damage somewhere — a transformer popped, a feeder line dropped, a substation breaker tripped. You'll see this on Dominion's outage map (outagemap.dominionenergy.com), and your neighbors will be out too. There's nothing for an electrician to fix; you wait for the utility to restore. Average restoration in NoVA is 4–12 hours; major storms can stretch to days.

Second category: service-entrance damage. A tree limb falls and either snaps the drop wires (the cables running from the pole to your meter) or damages the service mast (the conduit that protects those cables where they enter your roof). Your power is out but your neighbors aren't. This is the most expensive scenario and requires both Dominion and an electrician: Dominion disconnects at the pole; we repair or replace the mast and reconnect at the meter; Dominion reconnects at the pole. The whole sequence usually takes 4–48 hours depending on coordination and weather.

Third category: surge damage. A nearby lightning strike or a transformer fault sent a voltage surge into your home through the service wires. The main breaker tripped (or didn't), but downstream devices took the hit. After power is restored, you may notice the HVAC won't start, the refrigerator is making odd noises, the well pump won't run, smart devices are bricked. Each affected device needs to be tested individually; sometimes a single damaged breaker is the culprit, sometimes the panel itself needs replacement. A post-storm inspection catches this before it cascades into more failures.

The specific Northern Virginia gotcha: Dominion Energy is responsible for the line from the pole to your meter. Everything past the meter is yours. This boundary matters because if the drop wires are damaged, Dominion fixes it for free; if the mast or meter base is damaged, you pay for the repair (and Dominion has to coordinate the disconnect/reconnect with your electrician). Knowing which side is damaged determines who you call first.