Most of us never give a thought to our electricity. It’s either on, or off. Power outages leave us at the mercy of providers like Duke Energy. If we’re dissatisfied with some aspect of our service or the fees we pay, there is absolutely nothing we can do. We may complain, shout, threaten. But to them, we’re a tinkling cymbal or sounding brass. They know they have us in a chokehold. We have to have electricity, and they’re the only game in town. Utility monopolies squelch complaints.
We live on the edge of town, surrounded by ancient trees that are often uprooted or drop massive limbs after a storm. In an odd arrangement decided decades ago, the electric company placed poles in every other yard, rather than on each customer’s own property. In this particular case, a neighbor’s tree dropped a huge limb as it lurched forward, hovering over the pole and power lines leading to our house.
We’ve experienced power outages before, and they are not fun if you don’t own a generator, have a gas stove, or other source of energy. The house is dark and cold. You can’t make coffee or heat up a can of soup. If it goes on too long, you try and find a motel where you can spend the night.
Consequently, I called the electric company to alert them to a possible power outage if the neighbor’s leaning tree and pole continue their downward trajectory. In addition, several lines are entangled in the wayward tree limbs, causing the lines to sag under their weight. I asked if someone could come out and evaluate the situation. They rudely replied, “we don’t trim trees and we can’t ask a homeowner to trim his tree.” This translated to a refusal to spend a few minutes checking on a potentially dangerous situation. Yes, I argued and complained, but they didn’t budge. It appeared they would rather wait for the tree or pole to fall , rather than doing anything to prevent a power outage.
In desperation, I resorted to an analogy. I said, “What if I called the police and reported that some deranged person had an unauthorized gun. Should they check it out or fall back on some legal reason not to? Would you agree with their decision to ignore the situation until the gun was actually used to commit a crime?.” The Duke Energy representative had no response. I think the question had her flummoxed.
When I called the city engineer and contacted the mayor’s officer, I hit a brick wall. After I repeated the above analogy, I heard the same mantra:: ‘the electric company is a private entity, over which the city has no control.” Therefore, what I’m hearing is that no one controls the electric utility company service in our city. They can do what they please, and get away with it.
As a result, we must live in suspense, watching and waiting to see if the tree and utility pole’s forward movement continues, which would destroy our fence and cut off our power. It may not happen. But if it does, it will be a costly accident that could have been prevented. Utility monopolies squelch citizens complaints and should be abolished.