More than half of Dinwiddie customers going on day five in the dark – 8News

DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) Dinwiddie County is taking a hit from central Virginias most damaging and most widespread ice storm in 20 years.

As of Tuesday night at 6:00, 55 percent of customers are still without power. The number decreased from 70 percent of customers that morning.

8News saw both Dominion Energy and Southside Electric Cooperative crews working to restore power Tuesday as people like John Anello adapt to stay warm.

My mom lives at an apartment complex so I just had to pack the kids up and go there, Anello said. He told 8News much of the food is his refrigerator spoiled after his home lost power Saturday.

Wednesday will mark the fifth day without power at his home. However, hes thankful he has somewhere warm to go. Not everyone has that option, he said.

I know its gonna take time and I know its frustrating. Theres other people that need it more than I do, Anello told 8News.

Sarah Woodlands family doesnt have any family to turn to. Over the weekend, she not only lost power but also gained a tree.

As soon as I closed my eyes it sounded like a big explosion, said her daughter, who is eight months pregnant. I go into the living room and there was a tree in the living room. I thought I was about ready to have my baby right then and there!

The treefall resulted in extensive damage to the familys front deck, roof, carpet, and appliances inside.

We tried to prepare for it by cutting down other trees in the yard to make sure this didnt happen and here we go, Woodland said. After the tree fell, her fianc was hurt while trying to make sure the home was secure and had to be taken to an E.R. Thankfully, Woodland said, it was just some bruised ribs.

Its just one thing after another but were getting through it, she told 8News.

The family has been staying in a not always comfortable hotel ever since.

You might as well have been staying in the house because the heat kept going out in our room, she said.

The family is expecting home owners insurance to help with some of the cost, but its still a burden. Woodland said shes grateful some family has stepped in to help.

Dominion Energy has roughly 800 more customers in Dinwiddie than Southside Electric does. But as of Tuesday night, Southside has nearly three times the amount of outages. About 2,200 Dominion customers were still in the dark while 5,720 Southside customers remained without power as of 6 p.m. Tuesday.

John Anello is a Southside customer and while he reported his outage to the company days ago, theres still a massive tree branch sitting on his power line. Anello said he reported the outage by leaving a message with Southside and was never contacted after.

Hopefully we can get it back before Thursday but with the storm coming Thursday I dont know, he said.

Southside Electric did not agree to an interview with 8News on Monday or Tuesday. Late in the afternoon Tuesday, a company representative sent a news release with information. However, none of the information given was specific to Dinwiddie County.

In advance of the freezing weather, 18 mutual-aid crews, ten contract crews, and eight contract tree crews were brought on board, as well as 26 of its own restoration crews. Subsequently, on Monday, February 15, an additional 10 contract crews arrived, with 10 more scheduled to arrive by Thursday, the statement read.

The company said the full restoration will take several days due to the sheer damage that has been left behind. The release states that crews are having a tough time reaching some power poles and lines because of downed trees.

As of noon on Tuesday, February 16 there were 752 outages affecting approximately 31,500 members. Specifically, there were 207 reported broken poles, 191 reported broken cross arms, 352 reports of downed wire and 32 circuit outages, the company representative wrote.

According to the company, the following is their strategy for restoring power: SEC crews will be working to first restore electricity on larger, three-phase lines that serve more members. If a SEC member is served by a single-phase line, it will take time to get their power flowing again. While a good amount of progress is being made, it will likely be several days before all members have electricity. SEC apologizes for this inconvenience and want all members to know SEC is working as quickly and safely as possible.

This is a developing story. Stay with 8News for updates.

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More than half of Dinwiddie customers going on day five in the dark - 8News