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Downed Power Lines
If you see it, report it.
Power Line Safety
- Stay at least 30 feet away from downed lines – consider them energized and dangerous.
- If a downed power line presents clear and imminent danger to you, your property or to others, call 911 first.
- Electricity can move through conductive materials like water, metal, wood, aluminum, string, and plastics.
- Keep away from heavily flooded and debris-laden areas; power lines could be buried underneath.
- Protect your pets by keeping them as far away from lines as possible.
- If someone makes contact with a downed power line, don't try to rescue them because you risk becoming a victim yourself. Call 911.
If a Power Line Falls on Your Vehicle:
- Stay inside the vehicle until help arrives.
- Warn others not to touch the vehicle and have them call for help.
- If you must leave the vehicle, jump as far away as possible with both feet landing on the ground at the same time. Don't touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time.
If You See It, Report It!
- Call us at 866-366-4357 to report a downed line. It's important to remain on the call and speak with a representative.
- Provide as much information about the location and condition of the line. This helps us secure the line and ensure safety as soon as possible.
- We respond to every downed line call.
- Not all downed lines are power lines.
- First, we'll assess all downed lines as our priority is safety.
- Next, we'll mark the line to identify it: yellow tape if it's electrical wire, orange tape if it belongs to another utility.
- Depending upon availability, crews will complete final repairs as quickly and safely as possible.
- Stay back at least 30 feet from the downed line until repairs are made.
We treat every “wire down” report with heightened sensitivity because of the potential for danger. We respond to every call as soon as we can. In some cases, especially after storms, we will inspect the area and assess danger. We mark downed wires to identify those in our system and those that belong to another utility. If we have other critical repairs to get to, we may barricade the area safely until crews are available to come back and make final repairs.
If you see yellow tape, it's in our network. If you see orange tape, it means it belongs to another utility. We will notify the proper utility that their wire is down.
No. Reporting a wire down ensures we will assess the situation and make it safe for the public. Crews will make repairs to restore power as soon as they are able, which may require a return visit at a later time. Because responding to a downed wire is a priority for our crews after a major storm, we may have to pull additional crews working on repairs to respond to reports of a downed wire. Additionally, if crews respond to a report of a wire down and there is no wire to assess, they will return to their originally scheduled work location for the day.
At first glance, you may be unable to tell. Call us to report the downed wire and we will inspect the area, ensure it's safe and then tag it with yellow or orange tape. Yellow tape identifies the wire as a Dominion Energy wire, and orange tape identifies it as another utility. We will notify the owner utility of the wire down.
During busy times and certainly after major storm events, it will take time for us to get to every downed line reported.
Stay at least 30 feet away. Call us right away at 866-366-4357 and speak with an agent to report the downed wire. Please be patient if the wait time is longer than usual – it's very important we know a wire is down.
No. Rubber tires will not adequately protect you from an energized downed wire.
No. The line might be energized and the object itself could also become energized.
Crews will first make sure the wire does not pose an immediate hazard. The wire will be flagged with orange tape indicating the wire isn't part of our network and the owner of the wire will be notified.
No. All downed wires can pose a threat to the public.