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Others may be interested in my power outage timeline:
Last Monday - wake up early, power already off. We pack a bag and leave to go to work. We plan to stay overnight there to help with the storm.
Tuesday evening - arrive home, no power. Fire up the generator, go to Off the Wall for dinner and neighborhood report. Home to bed.
Wednesday evening - first call to WAPA: we say we don't have power, they take pertinent info, including phone, and say we'll hear from them.
Thursday evening - WAPA calls us. They've been working in the area and want to know if we have power. We still don't.
Friday evening at 5:00 pm - we call WAPA (I should have mentioned, we get through each time after getting a "fast busy" 5 or 6 times). The lady on the phone says Betsy's Jewel should be completely up and running - nope, not us. She says someone will call back.
Friday 5:10 pm - call from WAPA supervisor asking about our exact location, we explain, he knows the property and says he's on his way.
Friday 5: 15 pm - a WAPA car comes into the driveway, circles the property, stops to look at the pole behind the house and goes back to the front of the property. At the end of the driveway, two guys get out of the car, and go over to examine the pole at the front of the property. One guy takes out this long extension thingy, and proceeds to remove some part from the top of the pole. He replaces it, and VOILA power everywhere on the property, both houses and all 4 street lights. Total time from first call on Friday, less than 30 minutes.
Thanks WAPA line guys.
Posted : September 4, 2010 10:33 am
Linda...they replaced the fuse. Fortunately, as you wistnessed, that's something that can be done without tying up a bucket truck crew. (tu)
Posted : September 4, 2010 11:27 am
Still no Power in Belvedere. The fuse down the street appears to need snapping back in place.
Supposedly they were in the area yesterday but found a problem in the area. They say they'll be back today.
Thanks goodness for the generator!
Posted : September 4, 2010 12:02 pm
There was a wooden utility pole on fire Thursday night in Salt River STX. Two spots near the top of the pole were burning like little campfires. Several fire vehicles were standing by, "waiting for WAPA" (to turn off power, I think). I didn't stick around, but Friday morning I inspected the fire spots, and they seemed to be caused by downed wires touching the pole. One charred spot had burned half-way through the pole, leaving it vulnerable to snapping through from the weight of the top wires. Later on Friday, a second pole was installed and the top wires were moved to the new pole. I would say that all parties involved were very responsive.
Posted : September 4, 2010 1:20 pm
Drove all around the north shore this morning. Never saw a WAPA vehicle. Still no power in Belvedere and part of Betsy's Jewel. Many neighbors around us got power restored last night. Nothing here. 30+ homes in Belvedere, Cane Harbor and Scenic West still without power. If anyone sees a WAPA truck, please send them our way. Rt. 78 (scenic West) off the Mon Bijou Rd.
Posted : September 4, 2010 2:15 pm
Power in Carambola came on Saturday afternoon.
Saw several WAPA trucks in the area from Thursday on.
Some of them park off the road up a path to work on poles, etc, so you don't always see them.
Until we get massive Federal aid to overhaul the system ...from the generators to the poles, it is was it is.
Posted : September 5, 2010 12:29 pm
wapa personnel is working so hard with what they have, and it's taking longer for some folks than others ... may everyone have current again very, very soon.
my power went out even before the storm started, at about 5am monday morning. i went in to work, and the generator was already on, and the generator is still running at work. and i work downtown. power came up briefly once, then went back down again. so grateful that my employer invested in that generator, or it would have been very difficult for us to get much done.
as for home, i have plenty of little tap lights, good books, batteries, radio, ups backup for computer and sprint wireless card plus cel phone. i have water stored, non-perishables, and a battery operated fan. so i did ok. the routine suffered a bit, but i survived better than most because i was so well prepared. i can live without power. after hurricanes hugo and marilyn it was months. not days. so this was manageable for me.
my power was restored wednesday night. i am very grateful, and even when i had no power i was grateful because i had a dry place to sleep, was able to work meaningfully, and had plenty to eat and drink.
i wish that the powers that be would make sure that more is invested in preventive work (spot checks for overgrown areas), underground lines, and more efficient methods of delivery, but i have nothing but praise for the men and women of wapa, particularly the field workers and engineers who risk their lives during bad weather to keep us all bathed in light.
Posted : September 5, 2010 10:06 pm
wapa was at my office on sunday afternoon, and power was finally restored.
wapa personnel worked throughout the weekend, even late sunday night i was seeing people posting that they finally had power back on... so grateful for them!!!
Posted : September 7, 2010 1:46 pm
Agreed on the line guys but I can't agree that Wapa management is doing a good job. The reason the line guys have to work so hard (and get so much overtime) is because of the bad management at Wapa that has led us to a situation where we have one of the least reliable and most expensive public utilities in the world. I get the sense that the only reason things work at all is because, as you said, we have some excellent line folks who make the most with what they have.
Sean
Posted : September 7, 2010 7:21 pm
Agreed on the line guys but I can't agree that Wapa management is doing a good job. The reason the line guys have to work so hard (and get so much overtime) is because of the bad management at Wapa that has led us to a situation where we have one of the least reliable and most expensive public utilities in the world. I get the sense that the only reason things work at all is because, as you said, we have some excellent line folks who make the most with what they have.
Sean
this is my feeling as well.
Posted : September 8, 2010 2:51 am
Agreed on the line guys but I can't agree that Wapa management is doing a good job. The reason the line guys have to work so hard (and get so much overtime) is because of the bad management at Wapa that has led us to a situation where we have one of the least reliable and most expensive public utilities in the world. I get the sense that the only reason things work at all is because, as you said, we have some excellent line folks who make the most with what they have.
Sean
I completely agree.
Whenever I read that Hugo Hodge is on a truck helping restore power, I am thinking, "he should be spending his time in meetings to keep a mild storm from bringing down the islands instead of grandstanding."
Posted : September 8, 2010 11:32 am
