Colin McEnroe Show: As Frustration Mounts, Will October's Storm Change State Policy?
A check in on recovery efforts with leaders around the state.
In the audio embedded here, you'll hear Wednesday afternoon interviews with Gov. Danel P. Malloy, energy and environment commissioner Dan Esty, a vice-president for CL&P, an electrical workers' union official, a key state legislator and a consultant on how utilities can change their infrastructure to make it more storm-resistant.
Grumbling about the performance of Connecticut Light & Power restoring utilities after a storm is an ingrained state hobby in Connecticut, but allegations and reports made in the last 24 hours make it look, for the first time, as if there are some real reasons to call the company on the carpet.
The Hartford Courant reported some of the contractors who did power restoration work after Tropical Storm Irene had not been paid by CL&P and that, in some cases, those companies sent their crews somewhere else this time.
There are also conflicting statements from CL&P about whether the company has a policy against "reserving" crews before a storm by paying them to be on standby. The Courant raised questions about why other utilities are slow to help Connecticut.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from the electrical workers union at CL&P says the company doesn't have enough linemen to keep up with normal repairs. So, forget about a big storm.
Listen to the audio about to hear Governor Dannel Malloy, DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty and representatives from tCL&P and the Electrical Union Local 420.
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
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Power Lines
Why not invest in infrastructure and move all the power lines underground?
E-mail from An Anonymous Line Worker
I called in earlier this week to NPR under the monicker "anonymous lineman" and I would appreciate remaining such. Staffing levels at Att pertaining to the lineman position have gone from over 300 to around 100 today. During normal operating conditions the" on call" position pertaining to management can be held by a person who has never held a lineman's position, and who has no training in line construction and safety. This task was formerly held by a dedicated Strawboss, a management person who came up through the ranks and proved himself as a qualified lineman. In an effort to save money this position was eliminated by Att.
Att has ownership of 51% of the utility poles in the state. Until a few years ago we had a dedicated and well trained dispatch crew in state. This job was moved out of state until recent situations forced the local government to require an in state dispatch. For the past two years this has been in effect, but the effectiveness is minimal and dangerous. Trouble calls are often routed to improper personnel, resulting in a household telephony employee getting a trouble ticket for a broken Pole the morning after the occurrence. Often calls from emergency personnel go "unanswered." the dispatch system is a total shambles.
In regards to troubles from Irene, the largest problem was lack of communication. We linemen are often called by our peers at Cl&p in regards to broken poles and lines down. When we contacted our bosses about these troubles, they had no idea there was one, even though our dispatch system was contacted by theirs. When we encounter ledge or large rock mass while attempting to dig the six foot hole that the poles will reside in, we would call Coleman drilling to come with their specialized digging auger to quickly Blast us a hole. Our payment system offers no way to pay Coleman his going emergency rate. So for the entirety of the Irene debacle Coleman was not paid the proper amount, and this problem has been going on for over a year. Coleman drilling now does not respond to att's emergency calls, because of our inability to pay them the Proper amount.
My problem with the contractors that Cl&p and Att use is that they fail to use the legally required Call before you dig system in our state.
Att has six sigma'ed themselves into a state of customer service and emergency response that is so poor, it is doubtful they could ever handle a situation like this or even one half as bad.
Do not get me wrong, I love my job, it's my company that I have doubts about.
Please excuse the typos, as I am sending this from my phone, because my power is still out!
E-mail from Mike
My questions: why the trees were never trimmed back from the power lines; why Jeff Butler alternatively says that CL&P planned ahead of time for the storm and that they had no idea the storm would be a big deal; why some at CL&P say that it is against corporate policy to retain contractors, while Butler says that they did; why CL&P just got around to paying Irene relief crews this week; and how large a rate increase CL&P plans to request (maybe CL&P's representative can answer that).
E-mail from "Freddy the Freeloader"
Finally had power restored this morning (one of the last ten houses in East Haven), after four days without. I have been living at my sisters, which has been so nice I may not tell her I have power until Friday! Free warm house, with giant flat screen, free food, people waiting on you like a guest is pretty good.
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