power work outside 1215 Fort Myer

A secondary line leading out of one of the transformers on the utility pole outside of 1215 Fort Myer melted yesterday, disrupting power to part of the apartment building there.  Dominion Power repaired the lead.  Dominion has already replaced one of the transformer cans atop the pole and is planning to replace the other two.

Power reliability has been a problem in our neighborhood.  This evening at 7:55pm during the thunder storm I experienced a brief, power blip here in the Ode Street Tribune headquarters in my bedroom in Westmoreland Condos.  If you experience any power outages in the neighborhood, please record them in my power outage log.

We've had some power grid work in the area.  Some huge power poles have recently gone up just west of Rosslyn along Rt. 50.  Getting everyone reliable power is a difficult, dangerous job. A lot of under-appreciated workers doing good work is what separates us from being in the heat and dark.

power interruptions and outages in Rosslyn

Work is ongoing to improve the reliability of the power supply in Rosslyn.  This post will record power interruptions and outages that I've experience in Rosslyn from Dec. 2009 on.  Please add in the comments any other power outages that you've experienced.  I'll pin this post on the right side of the Ode Street Tribune's front page for easy access.

Power outages:

• 7/8/10 -- about 6 seconds, 7:11pm
• 6/22/10 -- less than a second, 7:55pm
• 2/19/10 -- approx. 6 second, 7:19pm
• 2/05/10 -- approx. 3 seconds, 2:06pm; approx 1 second, 8:05pm
• 12/19/09 -- approx. 5 second power interruption at 3:52 pm
• 12/21/09 -- series of 5 short (roughly 1 second or less) power interruptions at 5:11 pm
• 3/9/10 -- about 5:30pm; long enough to reset clocks
  

10-hour power outage starting Thursday, 8 pm

Due to Dominion Virginia Power maintenance work, power in our neighborhood will be out from Thursday, May 21, 8 pm to Friday, May 22, 6 am. Dominion Virginia Power says:

We advise you to set the controls of your refrigerator and freezer to a colder setting the night before, and refrain from opening the doors once the power is off. A fully loaded freezer will keep food frozen for up to 2 days if the door is not opened. [from Virginia Power letter dated May 6]

If you have questions about this power outage, you can call Dominion Virginia Power at (888) 667-3000.

I only retrieved from my mail stack the letter from Virginia Power because I got a call on Thursday informing me that the 10-hour power outage scheduled to start that evening (!!???) had been rescheduled to May 21. Virginia Power should do a better job of informing its customers about upcoming power outages. A telephone call is a bare minimum. A letter would be a good supplemental means of information. I suggest that Virginia Power should also make a special effort to inform leading local news sources in the affected areas.

The geographic extent of the power outage isn't clear. Apparently Prospect House isn't affected, nor is the apartment building at 1510 12'th St.