Power surges - continued

[Cheryl]

Ok, so I got a person finally on the line with the power company. This morning. As stated in their automated bullshit message, you have to be home, I verified this with the CS rep on the phone, she concurred, you have to be home to let them gain entry to my home if they need it. I went home (took a half day off work) and still no power company tech at nearly 10pm. I've called twice; first to make sure I didn't miss the tech, was told no, still pending. Several hours later I call back asking if I'm still "pending" as I've seen no tech. This CS rep tells me they never enter the home and I do not need to be here. WTF? What is the next step? I've emailed a complaint and as I told them (and cc'd the parent company) I won't let it rest here. If they check outdoors, and what exactly do they check?, and then don't find something and charge me $80 and leave me the name of an electrician, and the electrician doesn't find something in my house (remember, neighbor next door having the same problem), what is the recourse? In the meantime, mornings now are the time where the lights brighten/dim rather than in the afternoon when I first started worrying.

[John Grabowski]

I'm sorry for your troubles with the power company, Cheryl. I don't know how to get around poor customer service. It's not like you can threaten to take your business elsewhere. A letter to your Board of Public Utilities may take months for action. Perhaps bringing in a professional electrician would be your best bet. They deal with the power company often and may have their own contacts on the inside that they can call directly.

John Grabowski

[SQLit]

What state are you in? I might know someone who could intervene if your in the right state.

All they are going to do is measure the voltage at your service for a few minutes. If within tolerances they will leave. I had said you need a recording voltage meter for at least 24 hours a week would be better. I do not recall if your neighbor is on the same feed/transformer. Are they? Start keeping a log of who you talk to and when. You might need it. Get everyone's name and or id number.

[HA HA Budys Here]

And keep us informed of your progress.

Just like last summer, I'm finding my entire home loses power 2x a day, for a signifigant amout of time that every morning when I wake up, and every afternoon when I return from work, every clock or digital device w/o a backup battery is flashing or reading "PF" (power failure)

Others in the neighborhood report the same events. I suspect what's going on is the utility periodically throws different switches depending on how they're "wheeling" power sources, and some switches are breaking before others are making.

Power supply problems are a royal PITA.

[JerryMouse]

The power company has a recording meter they will loan you for 24 hours to measure and record the line voltage.

Here's one you BUY for $25.00 (last bid)

Don't forget to tell the power company you have a small child in an iron lung.

[Cheryl]

In the fine newsgroup "alt.home.repair", "John Grabowski" artfully composed this message within on 10 Jun 2004:

The email response I received was just as bad as the phone responses. They apparently checked the call record, saw that I had called to check the status after I emailed my question and dismissed it without an answer to my question about service call protocol. I had been waiting for a call from an electrician friend of my brother, but since he works really strange hours, I'm not surprised that he hasn't called to do a side job. Tonight I found out that my parents next door neighbors oldest son (I know him from growing up with him) has his own company and is an electrician so they are going to send me his contact info tomorrow. I only want a referral for an electrician, if it is someone I know, all the better. Today the power isn't fluctuating at all so I'm not as worried but this is the history of this. I called the power company when I got home from work tonight to see if they had been out here and it was still "pending". Amazing.

[Cheryl]

In the fine newsgroup "alt.home.repair", "JerryMouse" artfully composed this message within on 10 Jun 2004:

Seriously? See, this is why I want to be here when a tech comes out. These are things you can't talk to with a CS rep. I mention my worries and I can practically hear a yawn.

Resort to fiction. Something ain't right here. lol Shouldn't it be good enough that I'm afraid my appliances and lights are going to maybe burn out and that I'm afraid of a fire??