Dominion Energy will automatically enroll all residential accounts and most small commercial accounts for proactive outage alerts if they have a smart meter that communicates with us and the customer provides a mobile phone number. As we transition to this critical communication method, we anticipate having all eligible, active accounts registered by the end of March 2025. As new accounts are established, those accounts will automatically be enrolled if there is a smart meter and the primary phone number provided is a mobile number. Large commercial accounts will need to sign up for outage alerts. As well, property managers who wish to receive notifications for the accounts in their name will also need to manually enroll in the program.

When there is a power outage, your smart meter sends us notification that it has lost power. As we monitor these reports, we are looking closely at the electrical grid. Once we have enough details, we will create a text message from ‘64312’ to notify you that an outage has been detected at your address. As we continue to examine the situation, you will receive updates about the outage status, likely to include an estimated time of restoration as well as the notification that power has been restored.

Outage texts can include the following information: Acknowledgment of the loss of power at your address, an estimated time of restoration, a change in the time of restoration if it takes longer than originally anticipated, confirmation that your power has been restored. If the cause of the outage is determined before we have the power back on, we will include that detail as well.

There should not be any additional action needed after receiving the outage notification. If you receive the message that indicates your power has been restored, and you determine you still don’t have power, then follow the instructions included in the text. Note: you may need to check the breakers in your breaker box to ensure one has not tripped and needs to be reset.

That may vary based on the outage event. At a minimum, you should receive the outage notification text and the outage restoration text.

Based on the type of outage, you may receive a message that provides the estimated time of restoration. For some brief outage events, the outage may be restored before we even get an opportunity to provide an estimate. In those situations, we will likely opt to make sure you know the power is back on.

During larger events where the damage may require more extensive repairs, you may receive more than one text that provides details about the estimated time of restoration.

You will receive outage alerts as soon as Dominion Energy confirms there is an unplanned outage.*

There may be times when power may go out for a few moments due to factors like tree branches coming into contact with a power line. These momentary outages will not trigger an outage notification unless the power has been out more than five minutes.

*Currently, planned outages for system maintenance are communicated via email. We expect to upgrade those types of notifications to text messages in the near future.

If you have a downed power line or see a tree or limb on your service, we need you to contact us as soon as you become aware at 888-333-4465. Please stay away from downed power lines.

From Profiles and Settings, go to Notification Preferences and then Outages. Click the link for Manage phone numbers. Note that changes to the primary phone number disenroll you from texting notifications.

Yes, you certainly can. You need to make sure your spouse’s name and phone number are associated with your account. Then go to Notification Preferences from the Profiles and Setting menu. For Outages, you have the option to enable Outage texting other phone numbers listed on your account.

You certainly can. You can enroll additional accounts by going to the Notification Preferences on each account.

To help distinguish which account may be encountering an outage, we include a portion of the address in the text notification.

The outage map will always have the most current information about the outage. The text alerts are meant to be timely and meaningful. Some restoration efforts can be tricky as well as hazardous. Sometimes if the outage restoration time changes slightly, we will opt not to send an updated text. We do not want to overwhelm you with too many messages.

You certainly have the option to turn off Outage alerts if you wish.

Text “STOP” to 64312 from the phone number that has been receiving the text messages. Or, if you don’t have that phone, follow these steps:

1. Go to Profiles and Settings on the menu.
2. Select Notification Preferences and click Manage.
3. Select Outages then deselect the phone number.

Yes, we have an option for Quiet Hours in which you will not receive any text messages during that period of time. To set up Quiet Hours, log in to your account.

1. Go to Profiles and Settings on the menu.
2. Select Notification Preferences and Manage.
3. Select Quiet Hours and make updates.
   Note: We will not send mobile app notifications or text any of your registered phone numbers during this time unless you make a payment or request service.

Your meter should report your outage, typically within 15 minutes. It should not be necessary for you to report your outage unless there is some unusual situation, like a power line down or there is a limb or tree on the line. If you have this situation, please contact us at 888-333-4465. Please stay away from downed power lines.

Also, if you experience an outage but do NOT receive the outage alert text, by all means, let us know. You can report the outage through the website, mobile app, or through the phone automated system.