Alexandria, Virginia Power Outage Today

How reliable is Dominion Energy service in Alexandria?

Dominion Energy is an investor-owned utility with 2,635,267 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.36 interruptions and 172 minutes (about 2.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.1 hours.

Little of that came from major storms (about 24%). Without major event days the average is still 131 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

The typical outage was repaired in about 2.1 hours.

For comparison, Virginia as a whole averaged 418 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Dominion Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 17 utilities in Virginia with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Dominion Energy ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 53% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

This utility reports with its own method rather than the IEEE standard, so compare its numbers with other utilities loosely.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Alexandria

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 84 storm reports for Alexandria from 2015 through 2026, most often flash flood (37), thunderstorm wind (32), flood (14), and hail (1). The busiest full year was 2021 with 20 reports and the quietest was 2024 with 3, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (32 since 2015), followed by August and June. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 1 storm episode in Alexandria since 2015. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Alexandria do to the grid:

• Flash flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.
• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.

Storm reports that name Alexandria

Within Alexandria, 68 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Alexandria as their location or in their description: flash flood (30), thunderstorm wind (26), flood (11), and hail (1). That is about 81% of the county’s reports, so Alexandria accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Alexandria are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2021 with 18.

In NOAA’s own words, storms that left Alexandria without power:

• June 11, 2026 (thunderstorm wind): “There were mutliple reports of trees and power lines down throughout the City of Alexandria.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• May 16, 2025 (thunderstorm wind): “Numerous trees and wires blew down in the City of Alexandria resulting in widespread power outages.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Alexandria

Home heating in Alexandria is mixed: 49.7% of occupied homes use electricity (US 41.3%) and 47.1% use piped natural gas. Either way, furnaces and heat pumps need grid power to run, so a winter outage means a cold house for most households.

Residents aged 65 or older are 13% of the population in Alexandria, below the US share of 17.2% and 7.4% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Dominion Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 43.2% of the housing in Alexandria was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 41.8% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units (US 10.3%), where an outage also stops elevators and water pumps, which matters for upper floors and anyone who cannot use stairs; 57.9% of households rent (US 34.8%), so many residents depend on a landlord to restore building systems and cannot add a generator or battery themselves.

Median household income in Alexandria is $119,681, above the Virginia figure of $93,170, and home generators and batteries are correspondingly more common. If a neighbor runs one, keep the exhaust away from every window and door, including yours.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Alexandria

The average Dominion Energy home used about 1,005 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.4 kW around the clock, and paid about 14.1 cents per kWh (14.4 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $142 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average about 2.1 hours takes less than 1 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Alexandria

About 159,467 people live in Alexandria, the 6th largest of the 10 Virginia cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Dominion Energy’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Alexandria power outage map

Dominion Energy’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Alexandria power outage questions