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This was a developing story and was updated throughout the day. The last update was at 4:30 p.m.
Power has been fully restored across Alexandria following a Thursday morning outage that knocked out service for more than 2,300 customers, knocked out traffic signals at multiple intersections and prompted road closures in the city's core.
The Dominion Energy outage map showed zero outages in Alexandria as of 4:16 p.m., which is within the utility's estimated restoration window of 2 to 5 p.m. The cause of the outage was listed as pending investigation and then a "broken pole".
At its peak, the outage affected more than 2,300 customers concentrated around the Duke Street and Eisenhower Avenue corridor. By midday, crews had restored power to the vast majority of affected customers, with 282 remaining without service as of 1:16 p.m. before full restoration was confirmed by mid-afternoon.
City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi had posted on X Thursday morning that road closures were in effect on West Street between King Street and Duke Street, at King Street and Payton Street, and along the 1400 block of Prince Street.
The Alexandria Police Department urged drivers throughout the day to treat darkened traffic signals as four-way stops.
"If traffic signals are out, treat the intersection as a four-way stop," APD wrote on X. "Come to a complete stop and proceed cautiously."
The outage unfolded as Alexandria contended with deteriorating weather, with rain mixing with snow and wind gusts reaching up to 31 mph during the afternoon hours.
Downed power lines: What to do
Dominion Energy urges anyone who spots a downed power line to treat it as energized and dangerous. Stay at least 30 feet away and call 911 immediately if the line presents a clear danger to people or property. To report a downed line, call Dominion at 866-366-4357 and remain on the line to speak with a representative.
Additional safety guidance from Dominion Energy:
- Electricity can travel through water, metal, wood, and other conductive materials — stay clear of flooded or debris-laden areas where lines may be buried.
- Keep pets as far away from downed lines as possible.
- If someone contacts a downed line, do not attempt a rescue — call 911 instead.
- If a power line falls on your vehicle, stay inside until help arrives. If you must exit, jump clear with both feet landing simultaneously and do not touch the vehicle and ground at the same time.
Dominion responds to every downed line report and will mark lines with yellow tape if electrical or orange tape if belonging to another utility.
This was a developing story and was updated throughout the day. The last update was at 4:30 p.m.
