This summer a tree went down near Ode and Colonial Terrace disrupting electric and other utility service. The Dominion Power emergency response was greatly delayed. The electric repair delay, in turn, delayed repair of all other services.

As authorized by the North Rosslyn Civic Association, I have sent the note below requesting that Dominion Power develop a plan to respond better to power outages in our area:

Mark Antell
--------------------
October 7, 2003
Virginia State Commerce Commission
Public Utilities Division
P.O. Box 1197 Richmond, Virginia 23218

Sirs:

I write on behalf of the North Rosslyn Civic Association* concerning a flaw in the emergency response process for power failures in our neighborhood.** We request that the Virginia State Commerce Commission direct VA Dominion Power to put procedures in place to rapidly shut-off, and restore, power at the North Rosslyn substation.

Unlike the rest of the Dominion Electric service area, the electric equipment in the North Rosslyn substation is legacy equipment dating from the time when service was provided by PEPCO. As a result, most VA Dominion personnel are not able to service emergencies in our neighborhood.

Here is a recent example:
On June 13, 2003, at 3:30 AM a large tree took down power lines near the intersection of Ode and Colonial Terrace. Emergency crews from the Arlington Fire, Police, and Parks and Public Works departments, as well as crews from Verizon, Comcast, and VA Dominion Power arrived immediately to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, dozens of emergency workers had to wait 6 hours for VA Dominion Power to locate trained personnel to come to Rosslyn and shut down power so that emergency crews could remove the fallen tree and repair damage. After power was shutoff the VA Dominion repair contractor, Pike Electric, completed their repairs at 4:30 PM but had to wait till 7:00 PM for the knowledgeable VA Dominion Power employee to visit the substation and reactive power. This delayed repairs of a broken water main until after dark. If trained VA Dominion Power personnel had been available on a timely basis, the shut-off and restoration of power and other utilities could have been accomplished much more expeditiously.

We request that the VA State Commerce Commission direct VA Dominion Power to put procedures in place to rapidly shut-off, and restore, power at the North Rosslyn substation.

Respectfully,


Mark Antell
Vice President, North Rosslyn Civic Association

cc. Dominion Power

*This letter is published on North Rosslyn Civic Association website at www.northrosslyn.org.
**We identified this problem in writing to Dominion Electric Power in August; we received no response to that letter."