The number of Virginians without electricity following the overnight storm is coming down.

About 769,500 customers of the state's two major electric utilities, Dominion and Appalachian Power, remained without service Saturday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 1.2 million earlier in the day.

The updated figure includes about 556,000 Dominion Power customers and 213,500 Appalachian Power customers. Officials of both utilities are urging customers to be patient as they try to restore power. Appalachian Power Vice President Phil Wright says it will be a multiday restoration effort.