Giggle

I just got a mailer from my local electric provider.

"For as little as $7.99 per month, you can get one simple protection package that covers your home's interior electrical wiring system from breaker panel to outlets as well as your consumer electronics."

They're evidently hawking a "whole-house" surge protector.* The stated fee does provide up to $1,000 per year for repairs to interior electrical wiring (?) and up to $500 for repair or replacement of consumer electronics.

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  • Whole-house, electronic, surge protectors are available for 35-50 bucks and are dirt simple to install.
Reply to
HeyBub
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LOL. Why didn't I think of that? ;)

Reply to
gonjah

Er, no. I'm in Houston.

Reply to
HeyBub

The wall outlet suppressors have much more insurance. It is kinda nice to have one right on meter before the box.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

"HeyBub" wrote in news:3LSdnSLGFdOTeh_SnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

Here in SW Ohio both electric utilities and natural gas vendors are doing the same thing.

They are doing it because they have lost their monopoly in the area due to a state law that allows anyone to choose a different electric or gas supplier other than the one who does the delivery of the commodity. For as long a sI can remember Dayton Power & Light was bothe the electric and gas supplier. They could get rate increases almost at will by applying to the PUCO for approval. Customers could only go to hearings and complain about service, etc, but almost always did not stop the increase. Sometime after 1983, the gas part of DP&L was broken off into a separate unrelated company, causing lost revenue stream. Sometime later the law allowed cuatomers to choose other supploeres for electric and gas further eroded revenue streams to the local companies.

In order to recoup some of this revenue, the local companies offered "maintenance" packages to its local current and previous customers. The gas company offered a protection package for all our gas pipes in the house up to the gas meter. It was for something like $14.95 per month. It was a good bet for the gas company, because how ofter does a gas pipe in your house go bad, spring a leak, etc? A local news article researched it and said that a gas pipe in the house would fail once every 43 years (did not provide how that was determined), but I am 66 and except for 9 years, have lived all my life with nat gas (houses of different ages) and have never experienced a pipe failure.

As for wiring protection, there is a greater chance of some type of failure, depending on the age and type of wiring you have. I don't think a whole house surge suppressor is what they are talking about. I wouder if an inspection is required? Suppose you live in a house that the previous owneradded some outlets, either by himself or an unlicensed elec that was not installed to code? Will they protect that sight unseen?

On our area the electric wiring protection is just getting started, so I haven't been offered and there is no infoto work from.

I do remember when AT&T or whomever was yourtelco, owned the wired inyour house, but after the Telecommunications break-up around 1974 or so, they then belonged to you and the local telco offered "on- premise" wire maintenance for AFAIR about $0.92/month. I never bought it brcause I knew how to connect phones, add jacks, etc. My neighbor did not and he paid the price for cutting 2 wires, rather than just stripping and wrappping them arounf jack posts. He paid nearly $90 to have the wire reconnected.

Maintenance plans for wires and gas pipes are just anothe way to get your money.

Reply to
J Carter

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