UPDATE Power restored to Augusta: Crews continue work to restore power

Monique Calello and Lyra Bordelon, Staunton News Leader
Updated ·3 min read

Update Friday, March 22, 11:30 a.m.

ROCKINGHAM — According to a press release from the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, only 100 outages in Page County remain.

“I am extremely proud of the work done by everyone over the last two days. I have seen a great deal of cooperation and involvement from across the cooperative working together to assist our members,” SVEC President and CEO Greg Rogers says. “As we head into another major day of restoring service due to this event I want to remind our members that in working outages, we stay vigilant over safety. Our amazing crews have been working through difficult and tiring conditions this week, and in the process they watch out for one another as they face what feels like new hazards when it comes to air quality and other challenges that have been prevalent in this event."

The Dominion Energy outage map does not report any outtages in Augusta County, Staunton, or Waynesboro.

Update 4:50 p.m.

ROCKINGHAM — Power is coming back in Augusta County.

"As of 4:50 p.m. Thursday, about 1,100 members are out of service in nearly 50 locations," reads a press release from Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. "SVEC will continue to be responsive to emergencies and severe situations, but those members who remain out of power at sunset Thursday should anticipate service restoration to occur on Friday."

SVEC reports no outages in Augusta County. It's current outage numbers, as of 4:50 p.m., are:

  • Rockingham       509

  • Page                   436

  • Shenandoah       137

  • Warren                70

Anyone experiencing an outage can report it at www.svec.coop/outage, the MySVEC app, or calling 1-800-234-7832.

The press release also says to expect another update tonight.

Original Story

ROCKINGHAM — Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative service restoration efforts continued Thursday with the goal of having as many members as possible back on by the end of the day, according to a press release.

As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, about 3,700 SVEC members were out of service in more than 100 locations. Mutual aid crews from several Virginia electric cooperatives, plus more contracted crews, are in the Valley to assist with restoration. Another seven crews, totaling about 30 line workers, are on the way.

Crews are working as quickly and safely as possible, navigating smoky conditions and site access issues in some areas because of fires. They are progressing south in SVEC’s service territory as most of the remaining damage is in Augusta and Rockingham counties.

Dominion Energy also reported 63 outages in Staunton and five outages in Augusta County as of 11:23 a.m. Thursday.

DATA: Fires in the Augusta County area

SVEC current outage numbers by jurisdiction, as of 11 a.m. Thursday, are as follows:

  • Augusta: 1,309

  • Rockingham: 1,240

  • Page: 633

  • Shenandoah: 418

  • Warren: 70

Members are advised to report outages on the Outage Center at www.svec.coop/outage, the MySVEC app or by calling 1-800-234-7832. Please DO NOT touch downed power lines. Report them immediately by calling the 800 number.

More: Elevated fire weather conditions continue in Shenandoah Valley

More: Augusta County supervisors declare a local state of emergency

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: UPDATE Power restored to Augusta: Crews continue work to restore power