Did I ever say how much I hate Dook power ? a rant

[dweller]

So lost power here at 5pm … using the txt # notified them, and was told est time of restore 9:45pm
Got a rep on the fone to explain that a large branch had come down and knocked lines down to the ground, broke a power pole into thirds with a transformer hanging from the top third by wires …
They said crews on the way, est time of restore 9:30 …
Now we are a small community of mobile homes and 1 house with no power to all of us … est time 9:30
9:30 rolls around and I get a rep on the line again and told the same thing, crew on route, est time 9:30 …. I pointed out it was after 9:30 and not a single person had yet to show up …
Around 10:00 txt update: crew on route, est restore 4:30 am …
The branch is going to need chainsaws, the pole is going to need replacement and all the lines past the poles are one the ground …
I’m sitting here in my car w/ key on ACC to charge my phone, it’s 11pm and not a single soul has yet to show up …

It’s my fault … I mentioned to the first rep, when he asked how many ‘houses’ were affected… I said we were a small, private mobile home park, and we were all out … he said ‘ oh’ and at that point that knew we would be shuffled to the bottom of the list.

I left to hit a few stores mostly for the ac (it was 95 here when the storm blew in, maybe 20 mins of rain, wind, lightening and thunder = branch break, power lines and pole breakage, etc) and noticed a barn had caught fire some 5 miles or so from me … there were maybe 30 emt, fire and ambulances there, and still there when I was heading home …

But can’t get a single soul to show up here where 10 families are without power …
It’s down to 73 degrees and 90% humidity 😓 and I’m thinking of sleeping in my car where there’s a least a slight breeze … inside it’s 90 on my thermometer ( yeh, it’s probably broke, but so am I right about now)

So, Dook power sux 🤬

/rant off

Update: a truck has just pulled up … I knew if I ranted to DU 😆

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[dweller]

1. Hot damn

They say they are going to fix it right now, new pole and all ..
it was a tree, not a branch and it hit a neighbors car too, along with the lines and pole snapped into 3rds …
Is gonna be an all-nighter with noise, trucks, crews … and the pole is right across the road from my bedroom …

Yeehaw


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[dweller]

2. So I'm just going to keep on yakking here

So far it’s just 2 guys, spoke with them, said they were woken and told to get in
must of been my squeaky wheel …
I’m on a culdesac … but I’m like 2nd in … they went down to the main road, and cut the transformer there, then started unhitching lines leading to the broken pole
Guess they have to take them all down to replace the pole … now they are up the other end of the cul de sac to do the same ?
I’m just going to watch as long as I can from the porch, since it’s cooler out here than inside …
Just want to be awake when power is restored, so I can shut windows and fire up AC again …
I did not want to sleep outside that much 😑


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[dweller]

3. Really nice cool breeze out here tonite

Now they are setting up on the broken pole, guess they’ll take up the bucket to release the transformer from the wires it hangs by ?
Got a front row seat here from my porch …


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[dweller]

4. Reinforcements have arrived

Damn if one didn’t drive his truck smack onto my lawn … then ask ‘ ok if I park here for awhile?’

What can I say? No?

Hope that second truck has a new pole ..


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[dweller]

5. Yep, the 2nd truck is a crane

With the new pole … dropped a cable hook and lifted out the transformer …
Next I guess will be the pole in pieces … dropping all the wires from the broken pole now … top 3rd free and hanging by the sky hook, I est it’s 9-10’ long …
The next 2/3rds is almost split in half … still with tension wires attached … looks like the end of the crane has pincers, and has it in its grip … 2 tension wires to go

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[2naSalit]

6. It's the power of the rant!

[dweller]

8. Whatever works 😁

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[dweller]

7. Now they took the crane

Down to the tree that has the lines trapped (and is on the neighbor’s car) and lifted the tree to free the lines and take it off the car …
Crane is back to the broken pole, wonder if it will come up from the ground in 1 or 2 pieces? Last of the tension wires coming loose, all power lines free … got the pincers and a hook around the top about 4’ down … snapped it in two 😵?💫
Now the bottom third has to be yanked out of the ground …
Then to set the new pole … I’m guessing we are at a halfway point here …



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[dweller]

9. Setting the new pole

Crane is lifting it while 2 guys have a rope tether on the end
Swinging it around in a circle looks crazy out there …
Now it’s on the ground, can’t see the hole the old pole came from,
but the crane has just dropped a huge hole boring bit to dig a new one I guess, or clean out the old one … I know it’s not a bit, just can’t think of the word 😠



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[2naSalit]

13. Auger?

Boring device?

Just tryna help.

[dweller]

15. That was the word

It was taller than I am, and almost as wide

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[dweller]

10. While the pole was on the ground

Hardware was attached and now I guess it’s set in the ground …
Bucket truck is getting ready to set tension/torsion wires, transformer and power lines
Crane is picking up broken pole pieces to the rack of his truck …
Everything is moving along …
Uh oh .. looks like the super has shown up … wonder what she’s got to say ?
🤔


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[dweller]

11. Everything must have been ok

Because she left … finishing touches here, more wires and the transformer

I think they may finish ahead of sched… I’m worn out and I’m just watching

Also this is a subcontractor doing this job, not Dook power … so I guess I can still rant on them, but heap praises on the sub crew

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[dweller]

12. Aaaaaannnnndd

Power is ON … writing this kept me awake while waiting along with the noise of the crew restoring power …




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[2naSalit]

14. It was a worthy tale.

[csziggy]

16. I know how you feel - I used to be the last place on the line coming out here

Except for the trailer on the property next door that was a weekend place for the neighbor to stay when he wanted to get out here early to hunt. There are lots of trees along the main road and the road coming to my property and even more were along the power line going ext door, so lots of chances for a branch or tree coming down on the lines and taking out the power.

After Hurricane Kate, our power was out for nearly a week. Power was restored to the main road and up to the house across the rural dirty road where I live. Not to us -even though the line was god to my house and barn, the trees next to the line going to the trailer had fallen, maybe thirty of them. With only two houses, one not occupied, we were not a priority. I rescinded permission for their line to come off the transformer next to my house, but it still took days for the power company to come out and disconnect it.

With thirty horses to water, we ran low (have some big concrete troughs we could pull water out of) and I filled my horse trailer with 50 gallon drums, drove to the closest place I could find water, came back, siphoned water into troughs, buckets, etc. Left one in the horse trailer and backed it up to the house so I could take water in to flush toilets.

As I backed the trailer in, the power company showed up to drop the other line and restore our power. Yay! I immediately took a cold shower - wasn't going to wait for the water heater to warm it up.

Now I'm old and have enough money I put in a whole house generator a couple of years ago. It's a lifesaver.