Islands Electrified

[Pineedles]

I posted a PM to a couple of Island dwellers with a question and then did some searching on my own. The question was how is it that there is electricity from "NHEC?" on the island. I always assumed that unless there was a bridge connecting the island to the mainland there was no power available, unless it came from a generator. Foolish assumption on my part I guess, because I see that in some posts from last year regarding Rattlesnake that NHEC crews were on the island trying to make repairs.

I hesitate to assume again, but are the power lines run under the lake? How many islands do not have power, and is there a minimum # of kilowatts that must be consumed in order for a hookup to take place?

Just curious.

[ishoot308]

Hi Pineedles;

I just P.M.'d you. But yes many of the islands on Winni have underground cable which supply electricity to the islands. Welch, Mark, Rattlesnake, and many others get electricity this way.

Dan

[LIforrelaxin]

If you go through the hole in the wall you actually pass over the line, and can see the cement conduit that it runs through, This line takes power from Little Bear, to Devens, and then on over to Cow.....

The Power Comes over under water from Long Island to Little Bear I believe, however I have never been able to see where.............

[Dave 35]

Lockes Island has had PSNH power via underwater cable from Varney Point since 1947.

[Bear Island South]

Bear Island is serviced by NHEC underwater from Cattle Landing, the line leaves Bear on our property and heads over to Mark Island, I would assume it also services Mink Island.

We turn our power off in the winter but they still charge us a $20 per month service fee for the winter month's. I spoke with a rep last year regarding an aging pole on our property, he said they will replace it when it falls down, he also went on to say they don't make any money off the island service and sending repair crews is costly. I believe they only come 2x to read the meter.

We have been there for 3 seasons and have only had a couple of interuptions only lasting a few minutes.

[Pineedles]

. I spoke with a rep last year regarding an aging pole on our property, he said they will replace it when it falls down, he also went on to say they don't make any money off the island service and sending repair crews is costly.

He'll replace the pole when it falls down?

Get his name the next time you call and let's find out how much money they really make! Also, let's find out what the power company's insurance provider has to say about "they will replace it when it falls down", on your house?

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Rattlesnake is fed by two lines underwater on both ends. We are at the end of one of the lines. It cost 5-10K per lot to bring the power to lots that need power. They only read the meter twice a year. We have phone as well but no longer use it in the digital age. Cellular INTERNET and phone. As you can imagine, power outages on the island can take a bit longer to fix than on the mainland.

[SIKSUKR]

After reading about the underwater lines,it made me wonder about how those lines are protected from damage like anchors.My boat would make one nice light bulb with me being the element.

[chipj29]

After reading about the underwater lines,it made me wonder about how those lines are protected from damage like anchors.My boat would make one nice light bulb with me being the element.
LI mentions a cement conduit...

If you go through the hole in the wall you actually pass over the line, and can see the cement conduit that it runs through, This line takes power from Little Bear, to Devens, and then on over to Cow.....

The Power Comes over under water from Long Island to Little Bear I believe, however I have never been able to see where.............

[jmen24]

As mentioned above it is protected by a concrete shell. This is the same method used when you cannot get the underground power on land below 18".

There was a project about 8 years ago on Moosehead lake that the new owner of more than half of an island needed power for his monstrocity of a house and he paid to have the power cable run out to the island, the other owner of the rest of the island approached him and stated he would split the cost of the power and the new owner told him to get his own power. Imagine having him for a neighbor, he obviously was looking down the road to drive the other guy out. My engineering professor shared this story with us as he was the lead structural engineer on this project, take it for what it is worth, but the focus is that if you have the money you can get the power. It cost upwards of 40K to run the lines to that island. Exact location was not shared with us.

[Island-Ho]

Here's more information on the cable. The concrete protection is only used at the shoreline where ice could damage the cable. The cables are wrapped with steel armor and then some kind of a plastic jacket (PVC) is applied over that, so your anchor has no chance of being electrified and lighting you up! Cable is pretty heavy and it would be difficult to pull much of it off the bottom if you hooked it. The older cables had a wrapped steel armor with an impregnated cloth-like covering that deterioted with age and the steel eventually rusted away. Most of the cables have been on the bottom a good number of years and are mostly covered by silt.
Some cables had a lead sheath for protection, common with telephone cables years back.
There are many islands that don't have power; these come to mind in my area:
Timber, Round, Camp, Little Camp, Breezy, Kinneho, Crescent, and Fish.
There's a project for someone with time on their hands: complete the list. :)

[Seeker]

I once hooked an underwater power cable running from Manchester, MA to Bakers Island in Salem Harbor. I know, it is shown on the chart but the fishing was good. I could pull the anchor up about 10' off the bottom but that was it. I tied a spare lobster bouy to my line and went in search of a diver. Found some guys scuba diving for scallops and gave them $20 to dive down and free my anchor. When they came back up they said you know what - it was hooked on this big black cable like thing. I said Imagine that! So it appears you don't get electrocuted after all. :rolleye2:

[KBoater]

When I owned Gem Island 20 years ago, I lost the telephone line that ran between the Twin Islands. I had to run a new line between the islands. The only company that would do it was a company from the area. The telephone company ( Tuftonboros ) approved of them. The cable was trans ocean cable, made in Texas and completely incased in a heavy sheeting. I hired a barge and we spooled the cable out from the front of the barge. It went to the bottom which is rocky. The length had to be exact since it could not be cut. We reached the island with 2 feet to spare. It was an interesting project.

[Kamper]

Bear Island is serviced by NHEC ... I spoke with a rep last year regarding an aging pole on our property, he said they will replace it when it falls down, ...

If you're seriously worried about it being a hazard you should take a picture and send it to the PUC. I'm pretty sure utilities are required to maintain the infrastructure in safe condition. If you want to continue to be friendly, send the photo to NHEC first and ask them to re-evaluate their decision.

Good luck!

[Bear Island South]

If you're seriously worried about it being a hazard you should take a picture and send it to the PUC. I'm pretty sure utilities are required to maintain the infrastructure in safe condition. If you want to continue to be friendly, send the photo to NHEC first and ask them to re-evaluate their decision.

Good luck!

we are keeping a close eye on it, the good thing it is a short pole and far enough from the building.

[Kamper]

You'd think they'd realise it's cheaper to fix now than in the early winter when the ice is thin and they have to use a chopper or something.

[upthesaukee]

we are keeping a close eye on it, the good thing it is a short pole and far enough from the building.

And when that short pole falls, wires snap, and sparks fly to start a fire, just how safe are you? :rolleye1: Waiting for it to fall is probably not the prudent thing to do. Please be the squeaky wheel, with NHEC.

I would hope that all the shareholders in the Coop would want to see it replaced before something major develops.