http://www.detnews.com/1999/metro/9911/30/11300155.htm

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Tuesday, November 30, 1999

Edison too often powerless State says response is inadequate during storm emergencies

Daniel Mears / The Detroit News

Public Service Commission members David Svanda, left, and John Strand hear customers complain about Edison during Dearborn hearing.

By Peronet Despeignes, Craig Garrett and Mark Puls / The Detroit News

DEARBORN -- Detroit Edison's ability to keep a steady flow of power to its customers during storms and weather emergencies is deteriorating, according to a state report. Customers are experiencing more brownouts and blackouts during storms, and Edison's response time in restoring power is poor, according to the report by the Michigan Public Service Commission. Steps to improve service during storms have fallen short, the report said. And increasingly vocal customers are saying they are upset at waiting hours -- sometimes days -- to have power hooked up. "Every time it rains, we lose power. Every time the wind blows, we are out of electricity," said Mark Fraser, 38, manager at Larry's Foodland in Livonia. Among the report's findings: * Outages caused by wind and trees soared "eight-fold" from 1994 to 1998 and now account for up to 50 percent of all outages. "This represents a deterioration of performance back to 1991 levels," said the report. * Complaints of outages are up 66 percent in the last three years. * Last year, 4,000 lightning strikes and winds exceeding 65 miles per hour left a total of about 264,000 Edison customers without power, the highest number since 1995. Demand outstrips growth

In the report, the agency said Edison failed to maintain its network, which includes trimming around lines and replacing old lines. Substations have been built at half the rate of demand since 1991, the report said. These problems have left more customers exposed to the effects of damage to any one power line or substation. Power problems due to storms and heavy summer demand have plagued many Midwestern utilities in the last few years. In Chicago, one blackout in July left 100,000 downtown customers without power for up to three days. Another blackout in August left a 30-square-block area of downtown Chicago without power for up to 11 hours. Commonwealth Edison, the utility that serves Chicago and most of northern Illinois, admitted it had allowed power lines and transformers in the area to deteriorate. Five ComEd executives were asked to resign last week, bringing to seven the number of company officials who have lost their jobs because of the summer blackouts. Rising resistance

Detroit Edison officials said most of its service problems were related to weather, including heavy winds and rain, and that service during normal weather is fine. But the company wants to improve its record, officials said. "We're always eager to listen to our customers' comments and to work on specific problem areas. We welcome any input," said Detroit Edison spokeswoman Lori Kessler. The Public Service Commission acknowledged in its report that Edison faces community resistance to clearing away trees to make room for lines and to building substations. But the agency recommended, among other things, that the company spend more money to improve its performance during storms. Edison already plans to boost the number of customer service representatives from 288 to 350 people operating over three shifts late in 1999 and is developing an Internet "Web-based" system to link with local fire and police departments. It is also reviewing its automated voice-response system. But while storms have caused the outages, Edison's steps to improve emergency service have come up short, the agency's report said. After a severe storm in 1991, Edison agreed to develop an automated customer call-in system that could handle at least 36,000 calls an hour, up from 3,000 on the old system. It also promised to trim trees along its power lines every 4.3 years on average, but that target "has never been met," the report said. Mounting obstacles

Customers who attended Wednesday's Public Service Commission hearing in Dearborn said Edison hasn't satisfied complaints. "They tell you they're working on it," said Dearborn resident Marvin Sanow. "That's the answer you get all the time." Dearborn Heights Deputy Fire Chief David McElroy said his city has experienced brownout periods of up to three months. Those are times at peak demand when Edison cuts power to customers' air conditioners to conserve energy. McElroy also estimated that Dearborn Heights had paid nearly $100,000 in overtime costs to firefighters covering downed electric wires in the last two years alone. Others complained about lost street lighting and fallen tree limbs left in yards after storms passed through many communities. Gus Damian of Dearborn complained about trying to get through to Edison service workers when his city neighborhood lost street lights for several days. It took days to restore the lighting, he said. "I want somebody who's going to tell me the score, somebody with a little brass," he said. Commission Chairman John Strand said Edison, with about 2.1 million customers in southeastern Michigan, had two obstacles to overcome: supplying enough power to meet the demand; and ensuring that electrical power reaches every customer consistently. "Unfortunately, those problems are plaguing certain areas," he said. Livonia officials were so angered last January by winter power loses that some considered suing Edison. City Councilman Joe Laura said he's still angry with Edison. Two of the firm's substations were destroyed in the middle of cold spells, forcing many to find shelter in community centers for several days. Snow melt leaking onto power equipment had been blamed for the severe damage. That kind of damage could have been avoided with tougher maintenance standards, he said. "The citizens should rally. (Edison) is giving a lot of talk and putting out minimal action," Laura said. Edison President Robert Buckler, who attended Monday's hearing in Dearborn, said he wasn't surprised by the outrage. He said that after severe summer storms in 1995, Edison began a program targeting areas that frequently lose power. Those pocket neighborhoods had been reduced from 31,000 customers who experience repeated power loss to just 3,000, he said. "We've worked hard to improve our reliability," he said.

Copyright 1999, The Detroit News

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), November 30, 1999

Answers

Hmmmm...Kentucky Utilities must buy our power from them!

Kook-in-the-dark

-- Y2Kook (Y2Kook@usa.net), November 30, 1999.

Chicago will go dark, because CE(Commonwealth Eddison) is woefully unprepared and unreliable, IMO. Minneapolis's provider (NSP) will HAVE to come to the rescue and re-route power to Chicago(like they did in the summer).

Can NSP (if they stay on-line) power both, Shy-town and the land of 10,000 lakes??????

-- CygnusXI (noburnt@toast.net), November 30, 1999.