NORFOLK¬Dominion crews in Virginia and North Carolina on Sunday were assessing damage and working with local emergency personnel to return electrical service to 1.2 million customers, focusing first on public health and safety facilities.

By noon Monday, Dominion expects to complete the assessment of damage and have an estimate of when restoration for all customers will be complete.

Dominion serves 18,000 customers in Western Tidewater. As of Saturday night, nearly everyone in Southampton County was believed to be without power, Sgt. Wanda Covington with the Sheriff’s Office reported. Reports were sketchy in Isle of Wight County.

The Hurricane Irene restoration effort is Dominion’s second largest behind only Hurricane Isabel.

“We are helping local officials restore the critical services that help keep our communities safe,” said Rodney Blevins, vice president of distribution operations for Dominion Virginia Power and Dominion North Carolina Power. “We have begun the restoration process following the extensive damage brought by Hurricane Irene.”

More than 6,000 line workers and support personnel will be involved in restoring power, including line workers from utilities from Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. Dominion is working closely with state emergency management and transportation officials.

Priority is given to repairing circuits serving hospitals, water pumping stations, police and fire departments and other emergency locations. As critical infrastructure circuits are restored, efforts focus on restoring power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest amount of time.