Tag: National Electric Safety Code

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DUKE ENERGY DIDN’T LOCK THE BARN

Our city has just experienced a massive power outage cause by a major storm.  Many folks were without power for a week.   Obviously, no electric company can prevent storms and falling trees.  However, there are ways to mitigate the potential damage caused by the forces of nature.  Homeowners should be held responsible for trimming tree limbs that are in contact with electrical wires. This does not happen in our city.  However, now that the crisis is over, Duke has trucks out frantically trimming trees in public and suburban  areas.  Conventional wisdom calls for  locking  the barn before the horse is gone.  But it looks like  Duke Energy didn’t lock the barn in time.

DUKE ENERGY DIDN'T LOCK THE BARN IN TIME. All trees with touching wires should have been trimmed
DUKE ENERGY DIDN’T LOCK THE BARN IN TIME. If they had insisted homeowners trim their trees touching wires, the power outage wouldn’t have been so bad.

At our house , our electrical  power line radiates from a pole in the yard  of the  next door neighbor.   Those electrical wires are intertwined with the leaves and branches of numerous trees on his property.  Several years ago, I notified the electrical company that this dangerous situation existed.  Weeks later, they sent out a truck to see what I was talking about. The electrician drove into our driveway, stepped out and briefly glanced at the wires in the trees next door, then drove away.  When I called several weeks later to ask what they were planning to do about it,   they rudely replied, “we don’t trim trees and we can’t ask a homeowner to trim his tree.”

 When I called the city engineer, I hit the same brick wall.  He said, ‘the electric company is a private entity, over which the city has no control.”

In the case of our recent power outage, the company spokesperson  explained to our local newspaper that prolonged power outages occurred in suburban neighborhoods away from the main power lines.  Meaning that  homeowners in those leafy neighborhoods had not been advised or  required to trim their trees and bushes resting on power lines,  even though they represented  a disaster waiting to happen..

So 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. Which begs the question: Who is responsible for removing trees touching power lines?

According to the National Electrical Safety Code”, it is the responsibility of electric utility companies to trim trees touching power lines. Although, if the tree is on residential property, the homeowner has to assume  the costs of trimming trees around power lines. Electric utility companies should  conduct such maintenance during their yearly rounds (every 6 to 12 months). However, if the tree is touching a power line, the homeowner is responsible for its removal.”

Last week, Duke Energy and the City  both paid the price for neglecting their responsibility of keeping power lines from touching tree limbs. .  Actually, the people who really paid the price were the citizens who threw out rotted food, couldn’t shower or cook , turn on air conditioning or charge their cell phones.

It’s time for Duke Energy to start locking the barn before the horse gets stolen, not after. If they can’t handle that responsibility, the city  needs a contract with a new electric utility company.

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UTILITY MONOPOLIES SQUELCH COMPLAINTS

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. 

ELECTRIC MONOPOLIES SQUELCH COMPLAINTS. They'd rather wait for a tree or pole to cause a power outage than try to prevent it.
Electric utilities squelch complaints about potentially  dangerous situations. Rather than asking someone to trim a tree, they’d rather wait for an actual power outage.

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.

Electric Utilities squelch complaints in some states. But other states are trying to change taat.
Electric utilities squelch complaints in Indiana.  But some states are eliminating electric company monopolies.

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.