Quote:
Originally Posted by NoRegrets
We got our power back Friday night in Hudson. The crew was preparing to go to Ct. While they were working on the lines on our street they installed a wire that created a short from the power to the ground wires on the pole. I have never noticed that before so I asked them what was up with that? The response was it was a direct short in case a home owner incorrectly fed power back onto the grid through a generator or solar panel it would short the home owner device and protect them.
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That is one of the reasons restoration efforts are lengthened. Nearly all of the electrical utility companies now ground the lines before any work can be done. That means the tree crews can't work on cutting the branches and trees that brought down the wires until they are made "safe". In the not so distant past, linemen have been electrocuted because the primary lines were not grounded. Now it is standard practice.
Now I'll get up on my soapbox and go out on a limb, pun intended, to defend, in general, the power companies and their response to this past storm. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have the appropriate number of crews and equipment ready for something like what just happened. Heavy snow in October when the trees are still more than 50% leafed out is extremely rare. Leaves on the trees and wet snow do not mix. Many cities and towns do not allow the power companies to trim the trees near the power lines often enough or to the extent necessary to prevent or reduce outages. That greatly contributed to what we have just seen. Compounding that is the fact that whole trees, not just branches came down due to the weight of the snow. The damage an entire tree does to wires and poles is exponentially greater.