r/VirginiaUrbanism

The widespread power outages across Hampton Roads over the weekend caused by salt buildup on electrical infrastructure caught many in the region by surprise — including the National Weather Service — but it is a fairly common problem for utility providers.

There were about 45,000 outages as a direct result of salt buildup over the course of the storm, according to Dominion Energy, with a peak of about 20,000 at one time Saturday and about 8,000 on Sunday. As of 2 p.m. Monday, there were about 700 outages remaining.

The salt buildup and subsequent electrical issues were caused by a unique set of circumstances. The nor’easter lingered for several days, blowing salt into the air consistently which allowed it to reach farther inland, and there was a long period without steady rain to wash it away, according to Dominion Energy and the weather service.

“We had just enough moisture in the air that it activated the salt,” Dominion spokesperson Cherise Newsome said. “For our community we recognize that this is frustrating because (the power is) on again-off again, at the same time for utility companies in coastal regions we deal with this a lot.”

Newsome explained the salt buildup this weekend was only a “film” that utility workers can see up close but is not visible from the ground, though it’s possible to hear a crackling or buzzing noise from the ground. When the misting rain mixed with the salt, it became a conductor of electricity and instead of flowing through the power lines, the electricity was attracted to other parts of the utility poles that aren’t meant to handle electrical current.

Adding to the abnormal nature of the outages was that salt-related outages were reported farther inland in Portsmouth and Chesapeake. Newsome explained this was due to the nor’easter also blowing salt from the Elizabeth River.

Click the link above to read more.

See also r/VirginiaTransit and r/VirginiaUrbanism

The rapid development of AI is one of the defining storylines of this year. Industry leaders met with President Trump last week to discuss AI safety in the wake of growing alarm about the risks posed by agentic AI. The summit culminated in the White House releasing an agreement to implement “robust internal controls” signed by the leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI, Nvidia xAI, Google and Meta. Trump has signaled he wants the US to lead global AI development, leaving questions about what that means in practice.

Meanwhile, the race to build data centers is reshaping state and local politics across the country. Governors and legislators competing to attract the facilities are offering tax incentives and cheap land, even as communities deal with the strain these projects place on power grids and water supplies. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are debating how to approach AI, and politicians across the nation are navigating the public backlash to data centers and AI giants with just weeks to go until the midterm elections.

We are Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg Tax reporters and analysts covering AI and data centers. Here’s who we are:

• Cristiano Lima-Strong covers AI and government
• Kate Ackley covers lobbying and influence
• John Woolley analyzes legislation and policy on AI and technology
• Daniel Moore covers state tax policy

Ask us anything about policy and politics surrounding AI and data centers!

Proof: https://aboutblaw.com/bm1T

3 p.m. EASTERN EDIT: We are wrapping up now. Thanks so much to all those who left questions!

See also r/VirginiaUrbanism and r/VirginiaTransit

See also r/VirginiaEnvironment and r/VirginiaUrbanism

See also r/VirginiaNews and r/VirginiaUrbanism