Power Company, Impressive Response Time

[smokey0810]

Power went out at our house 20 minutes ago. Wake up to strange male voices and flashes in our alley.
Wife is looking out the back door at Xcel Energy replacing a transformer on one of the poles in the alley behind our house. My daughter saw it glowing and sparking this afternoon, so my wife calls and they come replace it with a temporary transformer. Guess they had to go get the right size. Nice seeing that kind of service at 1:10 am in the morning , when they easily could’ve waited for daylight to fix it. Power was off for 15 minutes tops.


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[rockettgpw]

Good to hear a happy story about a utilities provider over there when so many are about poor service and bad tradesmen.

We have a good power network here with what seem to be happy workers. Just as I moved in here I had a letter in the box telling of an upcoming planned outage, Turned out it was to replace a high voltage pole in my street with a taller one. Happily it was the one that carried my LV twisted service above my driveway which had been too low to get a container truck underneath (containers full of my **** from interstate). They were happy to pull it up higher and even left the almost new existing pole lying next to my drive to cut up for fence posts. And they were finished about 1.5hr ahead of schedule.

 

[killer cougar]

Got to love good power companies. Living here on the coast of NC we hold our linemen in high regard. Those boys work around the clock after hurricanes and come from far away to help. I would imagine it's very similar in the mid-west this time of year.

 

[Notgrownup]

We have very good service with our coop as well, I can’t complain.

 

[laser3kw]

Hint:
if you report a "sparking / glowing / smoking" power line / transformer to the fire department they will respond and then the POCO has to respond (immediately) . Or, at least, that is the way around here. Had that happen across the street from my house.

 

[slow]

One of the major benefits of smart meters, they know what areas are down. With FPL here in FL I can go online, see the status of the claim and an estimated repair time, even without having to call in for an outage.

Linemen certainly put in the effort to keep everybody up and running when there is an issue. Very thankful for the major support from all over the country after our hurricanes the past few years.

 

[sberry]

Our poco is good too. A rural outfit named Cherryland Electric.

 

[tyme2par4]

Glowing and sparking is not only an indicator of an imminent failure, it's also a safety concern. Those always get top priority.

 

[aka Larry]

I've had a pretty good experience with a local co-op POCO in the past too.

I bought a new TV set (back before flat screens) and took it home to set it up. It worked for about an hour and then died. Oh well, I took it back to the store and got another. This one lasted about 30 mins before it died. I was frustrated, but it was late so it would have to wait until the next day.

When I went to work I explained it to our maintenance guy who told me to check the outlet with a DVOM. I didn't own one at the time so he loaned me his. When I checked the outlet it was something like 150V. I don't remember the exact number, but either way it was higher that 120V.

I didn't know too much about this stuff back then, but he told me to open up my TV and check the fuse. Sure enough it was blown due to the higher voltage.

I called the POCO and explained and they said they would send someone right away. By this time it was about 10:00pm. The linesman told me the transformer needed to be replaced, and was surprised every light in my house wasn't blown. He said they could (and would) do it that night if I really needed it done, but they would have to cut the power of course, and asked if it was OK to come back in the morning. Since they were so prompt in their response, I decided the morning would be fine since I'd be at work anyway.

I was impressed with their response time to a non-emergency type of call.

 

[vavet]

It always amazes me when I see people on our neighborhood facebook page complain about Dominion (our POCO). I've always been pretty impressed with them.
The real question though: what was your wife wearing at 1:10 this morning? Maybe that helped the response time?

 

[Sevenhills1952]

It always amazes me when I see people on our neighborhood facebook page complain about Dominion (our POCO). I've always been pretty impressed with them.
The real question though: what was your wife wearing at 1:10 this morning? Maybe that helped the response time?

what was your wife wearing at 1:10 this morning?
strange male voices and flashes...[emoji849]

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[tonyciambrone]

My local is great to work with (Ameren)

ComEd, on the other hand, is every bit as bad as calling Comcast and expecting them to do something..

 

[boomer12831]

It's always nice to hear positive things about the guys in the field. Sometimes the guy that shows up at your house at 2am to fix your lights is the only personal contact you will ever have with the company that you pay your bill to every month. Hopefully it's a good experience.

 

[checkthisout]

Good to hear! The small co-op serving our area is great too.

Recently I have noticed the other power company replacing insulators and poles on what looks to be good equipment.

Only thing I can think of are the fire lawsuits from the california is driving other power companies to analyze and replace outdated equipment that could lead to sparking and fires.

 

[Stuart in MN]

what was your wife wearing at 1:10 this morning?

It takes a lot of class to be talking like that about someone else's wife.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

It takes a lot of class to be talking like that about someone else's wife.

I was quoting other posts. Besides, if our power company saw us at 1am they'd let out transformer burn! [emoji16]

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[99LeCouch]

Local POCO got raked over the coals by the Department of Public Service for not replacing poles on schedule.

The CS reps have been generally polite and responsive when I have contacted them. Thankfully not too often. The one time I needed a higher-up to answer a question, they got back to me the next day.

 

[TractorJeff]

Hint:
if you report a "sparking / glowing / smoking" power line / transformer to the fire department they will respond and then the POCO has to respond (immediately) . Or, at least, that is the way around here. Had that happen across the street from my house.

Wish I had known that when the line was arcing holes in my yard at 4am a year or so ago!

 

[wyliesdiesels]

We have several great co-ops here in the central valley of california.

MID, TID, Merced ID.

I have MID and they have great response times.

Troubleshooters usually arrive in about 15-20mins.

Thank god we dont have PAcific Gasp and extortion

Theres also SSJID who has been trying to buy their local grid from Pacific Gasp and extortion to no avail.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hint:
if you report a "sparking / glowing / smoking" power line / transformer to the fire department they will respond and then the POCO has to respond (immediately) . Or, at least, that is the way around here. Had that happen across the street from my house.

I've been out many times and requesting AEP to the scene for whatever reason. The main reason we do get a delay afterhours is due to "who" is on call for the night. Some guys live farther than the others.

If we need them fast, house fires with live lines down in the working area, those boys usually step it up fast as they possibly can. They are always more than willing to go the extra mile to help us out and I make sure that we stay on scene, block traffic or give them whatever help they need.


Those guys earn their pay and my hat off to them.

 

[reader2580]

I called the POCO and explained and they said they would send someone right away. By this time it was about 10:00pm. The linesman told me the transformer needed to be replaced, and was surprised every light in my house wasn't blown. He said they could (and would) do it that night if I really needed it done, but they would have to cut the power of course, and asked if it was OK to come back in the morning. Since they were so prompt in their response, I decided the morning would be fine since I'd be at work anyway.

I was impressed with their response time to a non-emergency type of call.

I would call 150 volts an emergency. It could cause an electrical fire in the right circumstance.

 

[TractorJeff]

Generally if the electric would go out, they show up in the rain, I tell them to wait until the rain quits or at least slows down. Usually its one guy alone? The last time a guy showed up and found a hole in the transformer from a lightning strike. I told him yeah it was 10 years ago. He said they would put up a new transformer after 1am. I told him to make a note to cut the 2 scrub trees off at the base, not trim them. Tree crew showed up at 1am and the transformer crew showed up at 2am! I know because the pole is close to my bedroom window.
They I did turn them in to the Public Utilities Commission when I requested tree trim, their contractor showed up and said it wasn't worth his time! I said I took a half day vacation to get this answer? Next Monday WE Energies Forester will show up to see what we can negotiate.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I would call 150 volts an emergency. It could cause an electrical fire in the right circumstance.

Yeah i would too.

Could have bad things happen.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I was at my desk at work about 15 years ago looking out a window, watching a bad thunderstorm when lightning hit our transformer up on the street. The hv wire came down (I'm guessing it was either 7200 or 14kV) and that wire was like a snake moving across the lawn kicking up dirt. I called 911, AEP came right out after fire department closed that section of the street off. They replaced transformer in pouring rain. I can't imagine doing that work.

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[dave*99]

I've had a pretty good experience with a local co-op POCO in the past too.

I bought a new TV set (back before flat screens) and took it home to set it up. It worked for about an hour and then died. Oh well, I took it back to the store and got another. This one lasted about 30 mins before it died. I was frustrated, but it was late so it would have to wait until the next day.

When I went to work I explained it to our maintenance guy who told me to check the outlet with a DVOM. I didn't own one at the time so he loaned me his. When I checked the outlet it was something like 150V. I don't remember the exact number, but either way it was higher that 120V.

I didn't know too much about this stuff back then, but he told me to open up my TV and check the fuse. Sure enough it was blown due to the higher voltage.

I called the POCO and explained and they said they would send someone right away. By this time it was about 10:00pm. The linesman told me the transformer needed to be replaced, and was surprised every light in my house wasn't blown. He said they could (and would) do it that night if I really needed it done, but they would have to cut the power of course, and asked if it was OK to come back in the morning. Since they were so prompt in their response, I decided the morning would be fine since I'd be at work anyway.

I was impressed with their response time to a non-emergency type of call.

You had an open neutral. I was talking to a POCO engineer from California a while ago. They had a similar issue - except the TV caught on fire and burned out the inside of an apartment.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

You had an open neutral. I was talking to a POCO engineer from California a while ago. They had a similar issue - except the TV caught on fire and burned out the inside of an apartment.

He didnt give enough info to definitively tell that it was an open neutral.

Need voltage measurements from both legs to neutral make that determination. If both legs were 150v then no open neutral. On the other hand, if one is 150v and the other is 90v then its an open neutral.

Ive seen line voltage get that high on both legs and it was due to the auto transformer controls failing on the primary voltage step down transformer at the substation. This was info i got directly from a troubleshooter assigned to my call.

 

[dave*99]

He didnt give enough info to definitively tell that it was an open neutral.

Need voltage measurements from both legs to make that determination. If both legs were 150v then no open neutral. On the other hand, if one is 150v and the other is 90v then its an open neutral.

I've seen line voltage get that high on both legs and it was due to the auto transformer controls failing at the substation

Agree that the voltage measurement on one leg does not definitively lead to the conclusion that the neutral is open. But the OP stated the lineman said the transformer needed replacement and he would be cutting power to the house etc. So it's reasonable that the problem is near that house.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Agree that the voltage measurement on one leg does not definitively lead to the conclusion that the neutral is open. But the OP stated the lineman said the transformer needed replacement and he would be cutting power to the house etc. So it's reasonable that the problem is near that house.

transformer windings fail causing the secondary voltage to rise.

thats not indicative of an open neutral either.

problem was most likely a failed transformer just like what was said. NOT an open neutral...

 

[dave*99]

transformer windings fail causing the secondary voltage to rise.

thats not indicative of an open neutral either.

problem was most likely a failed transformer just like what was said. NOT an open neutral...

Right - as the OP said, a transformer failure at the house. Not a tap changer failure at the substation. So now we have discussed 3 ways over-voltage can be caused. And there are more.....

 

[ozyborn]

My mom loves the local energy company. As one of the first homes in the area. Her home is on the same power grid as the hospital next door. Power outage? Lol. Hardly ever, even then resolved within 30 minutes.