The winter storm that brought 8 to 16 inches of snow into parts of our readership area on Oct. 29 and 30 may have been a surprise to most, but it shouldn’t have been for the electric utility companies.
From the end of August through September, and into October, we suffered through some the heaviest rains experienced over the last few decades. During that time we weathered an earthquake and the fury of a hurricane – and some power outages. During that time, limbs fell from the heavy winds and trees toppled from the soaked earth. The ground was still wet enough to uproot a weakened tree when the snowstorm was predicted.
Weather forecasters with “watch me” or “listen to me” personalities over-hyped several snowstorm events over the past few years making many people wary of lending credibility to their accounts. But utility company officials need to be above that and prepare for the forecasted event and hope that the region is spared the worst.
The storm was forecasted as much as five days before it arrived. Each day the forecast of the intensity of the storm grew worse. A wet, heavy snow and lots of it was coming our way. With roots hanging on in already softened ground, trees still bearing the weight of their leaves, and a temperature expected to hover around freezing, the region was ripe for a disaster.
Anyone who took a tour of our devastated region the day after, or even a week after the snow stopped, saw areas that resembled bombed-out wastelands instead of beautiful woodlands. Roads were closed and power was off in most of our rural areas. As of yesterday, power was still off in some areas of Berks County.
Repair crews did a commendable job of repairing problems. Even with the herculean effort done by the crews, electric utility company supervisors and administrators need to revisit their policies and procedures and insure that they are effective when dispatching their crews and restoring power to the people. To a family without electricity for an extended period of time, there is nothing more frustrating than watching repair crews drive within spitting distance of your problem and not even pausing to see if your needs can be helped with a “quick fix.”
One such case was the 300 block of Jefferson Street in East Greenville. While parts of the borough lost power for a short period of time, these residents waited six days for electric to flow through the lines and back into their homes.
The block was isolated with its problem. It had no trees to fall on the lines and is a densely constructed residential area. An authorized or encouraged “drive-by” by a technician would have revealed that the problem was the one-man job of throwing a switch with a piece of specialized equipment – as confirmed six days later. Residents in the neighborhood could see the open switch.
Last Thursday, after six days without power, four PPL trucks and six workers arrived at the site. One worker, using a telescoping “hot-stick” reached up to the switch and closed it. From the time the crews arrived until they left was less than 10 minutes.
One can’t help but wonder that if company policies and procedures would have permitted or encouraged one of the trucks passing through to do a drive-by, if the people of the 300 block would have been spared the gross expense and hardship of having to do without electricity for six days.