Are Electric Power Co's Liable for Damage?

[eepete]

First off, follow the rule "if it's anything with electronics, put it on a filtered surge suppressor strip."

Next, realize that you can't just wish energy off the face of the earth, it has to go somewhere. So a good ground system is critical to the surge suppressors working. The power co. and telcos put in a 4' to 8' single ground rod. You probably want three or four 8' copper clad ground rods. They do better when in damp soil, so look at where you put it. A ground rod where the flow from the gutter comes out is great. Space the ground rods more than 7' apart. If you have buried service, know where it it is or call the location service before you pound the ground rods in.
The worst I've seen is a 4' copper plated (not copper clad) ground rod in the disturbed soil of the house under an overhang.

Now that you have a good ground, put in a whole house suppressor at the main panel.

Also consider the advantages of buried power to your house in high lightning areas. Pay me now, pay me later...

I had a problem once. I got a line voltage monitor, and when the power co. came out, they saw 130V all the time. They put recorder on for a week. They agreed there was a problem.

The solution was to replace an old regulator. Regulators are often used in distribution systems to try to regulate the voltage alone a long feed. You might have a regulator every 5 miles or so. It took time for the power co. to schedule the replacement, as these things are not cheap.

Ken, this doesn't adress what you asked , but these ideas can help cut down on problems. They are also things most people on this forum can do.

Pete

 

[Chuck52]

I have the good fortune to be served by one of the better rural electric coops. These guys go way out of the way to make their customers/members happy, though I can't really comment on how they would handle a case involving damage due to a surge. I don't think we get any to speak of, and I know that our power outages are rare enough and short enough to cause comment when they happen. I didn't realize how good I had it until my daughter and SIL described their situation with another coop in an adjacent county. They have power outages, brown outs, surges, all the time, and though they belong to a coop, the folks who they deal with just plain don't seem to care.

Chuck

 

[Transit]

Does your utility offer a Whole House surge protector? If so, have them install the unit at the main. Once the utility has installed the unit, they are responsible. Also have a good electrician give your wiring a once over, depending on how old the wiring is and who had their hinds in it there may be problems, open grounds, missing grounds, ground and neutral interchanged.

 

[ultrarunner]

Power Company paid almost a $1000 for damage from a loose connection at the pole to the service drop.

Neighbor had lost one leg of power... he didn't realize he had until I checked it for him.

Two freezers loaded with game meat thawed and his answering machine was damaged.

He had previously complained the power would be erratic when it was windy... power company never would send anyone out... said stormy weather causes power anomalies.

Anyway, the field supervisor came out and found the connection burned from arcing and left a number to file a claim... he also verified the meat that was being tossed out which helped tremendously...

There was surge damage case where a high voltage line snapped in a storm and some how charged a residence with something like 48,000 volts...

All the outlets, appliances and Sheetrock covering different circuits was charred... the women said everything around her started sparking and sizzling... light bulbs exploded.

The Home owner's Insurance recovered from the Utility when it was all said and done.

Here's a link where the renter had to get the media involved.

http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=10308714

 

[JDgreen227]

We have had many power outages and surges in the 20 years I have lived here, every electronic item (computers, tv's, etc) is plugged into an APC backup power supply or good surge protector...ditto the washer/dryer, fridge, freezer, etc. Only had to buy them once and then replace them when they gradually go bad, but when you have 3 grand invested in a TV/DVD/sound system or computer, whats a hundred or fifty bucks for quality backup power and/or surge protection? No way would I ever be able to prove any damage was the fault of my power company anyhow.

 

[Jstpssng]

A friend's house got hit by lightning that had something to do with her service not being properly grounded. the power company bought her all new appliances, but did nothing about the crack it put in her foundation.

 

[GGB]

Ken, I'm not sure how helpful my experience may be, but I had a problem with lights dimming, then seemingly going brighter as the power came back up. No question that the lights were dimming, in fact the problem got so bad that our computer would shut down. I made calls to our power company, but really wasn't getting any resolution. They did come out and checked to be sure of grounds at the meter and at the transformer, ect. No obvious problem.

After more calls whenever the computer shut off, and after mentioning that we didn't want to have to call the state coporation commission, we started getting attention. The area manager called and said they wanted to put a monitor on our meter to see what showed up. Well, naturally we didn't have any major issues the next week-fairly mild weather, so demand probably was down, hence no brownouts. So when they came out to retrieve the monitor, I wasn't hopeful.

When I got the call a short time later, I was surprised to find out that they determined that our transformer was too small. Also, we probably had more issues than most other area customers, because we were the last home on the power line. Since the transformer upgrade, no major issues. Yes!

So, here's to persistance. Someone had told us that we needed to call EVERY time we had a problem. Squeaky wheel theory? Once they realized we were serious, they were really good to work with.

Again, I don't know if our problem is what your are experiencing, but hope this helps. Good luck!

GGB

 

[Car Doc]

Get an APC Smart UPS they come with a nifty software program that will automatically shut down your CPU plus they log every spike and sag in the line voltage and the time and exact voltages and you can simply print that out and show your power company its pretty indisputable at that point.

Now whatever is plugged into the UPS wont get hurt but what isnt just may be and the log is nice. (I have been there)

Btw The program you are looking for with the Smart UPS is called PowerChute Plus just make sure its included with the UPS some versions of Smart UPS don't have it even though they are setup for it and you will have to get it elsewhere possibly at a fee if not in the box. A cable is required also it will be included if its part of the UPS package. good luck

 

[Ken]

Does your utility offer a Whole House surge protector? If so, have them install the unit at the main. Once the utility has installed the unit, they are responsible. Also have a good electrician give your wiring a once over, depending on how old the wiring is and who had their hinds in it there may be problems, open grounds, missing grounds, ground and neutral interchanged.

The whole house protector is for 1 year there after not the co-op but manufacture of protector And this the same as the type for computers Lawyer written and they can wiggle out of any condition that comes up.
Mine this year went when lightening hit house computer microwave A/C heat pump well pump Dish Sat. house hold switches and outlets burned black .Power co said could try to contact manufactur to check but there answer would be it did what supposed to do and when over loaded diodes shorted as designed.
The brown outs or low voltage could be caused by some one with large motor starting. Saw mills or dairy farms with large refrig. units. Then voltage would be low and when disconnects the voltage spike would appear with large increase of voltage. Ever try to weld and see the lights flicker in shop as arc was set. Tree limbs drunks hitting power poles Wires touch so arc causing a disconnect in station breaker.
I have never seen a power plant that didn't try to maintain a constant voltage and due to nature of beast has to hold 60 cycle being controlled by largest generator on line.
Distance from Substation can cause problems same as drawing water from a constant flow after so many water valves opened the pressure is lowered.
Used to watch the total meg. watt meter at a power Transmission dispatch center. could see the morning load increase about 7 am then by 8 suddenly drop off and every one has had breakfast and went to work. evening % +/_ a few minutes the load would increase as familys turned on a/c and tv. cook the evening meal. This is a simplistic example elec. is generated the instant you flick the switch on. not stored in a vessel somewhere like city water storage tank.
If you have to have a constant reliable ac. purchase a good larger than needed UPS system for the computers. and run them off of battery to 120 volts this way the loss of or lower than needed voltage doesn't effect the system.
ken

 

[JimRB]

Me too post.

I did 2 ground rods 10 feet apart when I built my house like eepete mentioned. Actually I think he mentioned 3 ground rods. That area tends to stay damp enough even during droughts. I do need to ground the Directv dish.

As others mentioned I have 4 UPSs in the house. Too many computers in different places. One UPS is 14 years old. I just replace the battery and it keeps working. 2 of the other three came out of UPS junk piles. Fresh batteries and they keep working. No UPS is on its original batteries. That said some UPSs we have taken out of service have died to the point that they boil batteries prematurely or they eat a battery in less than a year. The fancy UPS is line interactive which clips and bumps without hitting the batteries. I don't any of those.

I do have a Square D whole house surge protector in the main panel. We do have occasional dips or drops when the weather gets nasty but our Co-op is pretty good. The power lines on my road are no older than 17-18 years old which might also be a bonus. Cow pasture subdivided 20 years ago.

At one of my accounts the UPS clicks like crazy some days. I need to see if the UPS I put in is logging. Power company says it is not them. I have no idea if they have a good ground. Last time I was there I went out to the shop to see if anyone was welding or using big power tools. It was quiet in the shop. I do need to do some logging to see what is going on. Good luck at your property.