CenterPoint Energy heading to Northeast U.S.

HOUSTON – CenterPoint Energy technicians headed to Virginia on Monday to help restore power after storms battered the northeast.

More than 80 technicians will help Dominion Virginia Power restore service to hundreds of thousands of its customers.

"We heard it's worse than a hurricane hit. We're expecting a lot of down trees, down wires, pretty bad conditions," said Calvin Cash, a CenterPoint Energy lineman.

A convoy of 40 to 50 trucks will be on the road for over 48 hours. The CenterPoint Energy employees are scheduled to arrive in Richmond on Wednesday.

Crews will be working 16 hours a day.

"Changing out poles, picking up wires, all the way down to the meter. Our guys here at CenterPoint Energy are highly skilled and can do turn-key jobs to get those folks' lights on," said Ernie Kaster, CenterPoint Operations manager.

More than 3.5 million homes and businesses from Indiana through Ohio and Virginia have been affected by the storms. More than 900,000 of those are Dominion customers.