Posted on 01/28/2009 10:36:02 AM PST by pabianice
Crowd asking state DPU to take action
FALLOUT FROM DEC. 11-12 ICE STORM
Elizabeth Brunell of Fitchburg speaks yesterday during a public hearing on Unitil, the ice storm and power outages.
FITCHBURG, MA — Enraged Unitil customers and frustrated local officials last night asked the state Department of Public Utilities to pull the plug on the electric company.
“I have been raped by this company,” said Elizabeth Brunell of Hollywood Street. “It’s time for you to do something.”
Hundreds of fuming ratepayers packed the auditorium at Memorial Middle School for the state regulator’s first public hearing into the company’s response to the Dec. 11-12 ice storm. They decried the lack of maintenance to the electrical infrastructure, the failure to trim trees and their ever-increasing bills.
State Rep. Stephen L. DiNatale, D-Fitchburg, said Unitil’s performance was unacceptable.
“You folks must bring the regulatory hammer down on this company,” he said to thunderous applause.
Another hearing on Unitil’s response is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday at Lunenburg High School, and the state board will be holding hearings in other communities as it evaluates the performance of all of the investor-owned utilities regarding the storm.
Attorney General Martha Coakley, the night’s first speaker, said she wanted to know why it took Unitil almost two weeks to restore power to its customers in Massachusetts, and called for an exhaustive inquiry that would look at the company’s system maintenance, communications and emergency planning.
“We do want to understand what went wrong,” she said.
Mayor Lisa A. Wong received an ovation from the excited crowd when she referred to news clippings about the inquiry into a widespread power outage in 1997.
“You could change the date and it is the same story,” she said. “I do not want to be standing in this position in 2021.”
She said there have to be consequences when companies fail to deliver services.
“I can tell you now, I am so angry,” Ms. Wong said.
She asked the DPU officials to make sure their own standards have teeth. “If standards are being met, why was this community put through what it was put through?”
Mr. DiNatale, a longtime Unitil critic, said there were many deficiencies in the company’s response to the storm. He implored the state not to let the company pass along the costs of the storm to its customers in a rate increase. Company officials have pegged the cost of the storm at $10 million and said it would likely be a factor in its next rate proposal to the DPU.
“You must set our people free,” Mr. DiNatale said.
He suggested the New Hampshire-based utility change its slogan from “We deliver. It’s that simple,” to: “We didn’t and can’t deliver.”
State Sen. Jennifer L. Flanagan, D-Leominster, said Unitil did a terrible job communicating with public safety officials in the immediate aftermath of the storm, while several members of the Fitchburg City Council said the company’s mailing of estimated bills for the month of the outage only added fuel to the public outrage.
There also were barbs directed at the DPU, which has oversight on rates.
“Shame on you for allowing Unitil’s rates to go up as high as they have,” Councilor Norman L. Boisvert said.
Most of the anger, however, was directed at Unitil. Council President Stephan Hay received a standing ovation when he asked the DPU officials to remove Unitil as the service provider.
“To quote a few people I’ve spoken with, ‘Throw the bums out,’ ” Mr. Boisvert said later.
“What this company has done to Fitchburg has raped us,” said Councilor Annie K. DeMartino, who also asked the board to cease being a “rubber stamp” for rate increases.
Nearly 200 private citizens had signed up to give testimony to the DPU. Its formal inquiry will last into the spring and include cross-examination of utility officials. Customers shared stories of long outages and the inability to get information on when service would be restored.
Michael Bursch said his 91-year-old grandmother refused to evacuate her house during the outage because she didn’t want to let Unitil beat her.
“Take their license to operate in Massachusetts away and say goodbye,” Mr. Bursch said to cheers from the audience.
Unitil Senior Vice President George R. Gantz was in the audience last night, along with two lawyers for the company.
“Unitil remains publicly committed to cooperating in all reviews and assessments intended to assure that all utilities in the region are able to produce better results during severe winter storms, and Unitil is participating fully in the ongoing investigation by the Department of Public Utilities,” according to a statement issued by the utility. “The company’s role in this evening’s proceedings is first and foremost to listen.”
The destruction to the region’s electrical infrastructure caused by the ice storm was unprecedented, according to the company, and officials said they understand the public frustration.
“We are committed to improving the quality of service we provide and have enacted a series of new measures, in place during the ice storm of January 6-8, to better deal with future severe storms, including quicker mobilization of emergency response crews, increased call center capabilities, and a new Emergency Information Center for improved communication with communities affected by a severe storm,” the company statement continued.
Unitil also has asked former DPU Chairman Robert Yardley to review its performance and develop lessons learned that can be applied to future storms.
HMMMM...Algore must have been there recently....
Whiners - go out and buy a generator and help the economy. Yeah, and put up a windmill in your yard - solar panels too.
socialists complaining when a governmental agency isn’t providing services to their satisfaction? LOL
maybe, just maybe, if 75% of MA had not voted to keep state taxes, then maybe the state would have some fear of losing their funding source.
as is, you’re just crying because mom & daddy government isn’t doing what you want.
the people that attended the tea party back in 1771 would not be able to recognize today’s bay staters. (and that is why i left)
Upset that they couldn’t watch Oprah. I’ll bet none of these whiners would pay another penny to have their electric put underground.
Gawd, you people really DON’T know what the hell you’re talking about, do you? Have any of you any idea at all how much it costs to run line underground? It’s barely cost effective in urban areas. I shudder to think how much my bill would be out in the sticks.
Light bills doubled with TVA in TN and AL. There was not any explanation... I’m a capitalist, but price gouging isn’t about true Capitalism.
There are some new ones now that run on propane and automatically start up when the power goes out. They were very expensive but the prices are coming way down. Home depot carries them. My point though was that no matter what you will not have power for 2 weeks. Which is better...waiting on the government or planning in advance and having a generator to keep you and maybe a neighbor warm? JAT
Our lines are underground but we still lose power.
I wonder how many of these people support strict limits on how utilities can trim trees to keep them a safe distance from lines. Tree limbs pulling down neighborhood wires is why restorations take weeks. Reminds me of another socialist utopia, Montgomery County, Md.
I put in an 18,000 watt generator last year. It runs three complete houses.......no problem. Automatic on, automatic off. Couldn’t be easier.
We named him “Sparky”.
I think it was a congressman from Texas who said “Let the Yankees freeze, in the dark”
That was a prescient thought. No juice, no heat. Will they learn? no, they prefer to be PC.
i went 17 years without elect.
These folks are a bit over the top. But..
Two weeks is not excusable. I was without for five days and quite upset with it.
These are monopolies and they are paid to deliver a vital commodity. Maintaining the lines, trees etc., prevents a lot of down time.
And, it’s not like ice storms are going to go away.
You tell them to prepare for outages; I tell the power company to prepare - that’s what they’re paid to do, and, again, they have a monopoly.
BTW: my elect co. finally did work on the trees and it’s been smooth for years here.
The only answer is put on two sweaters
We are thinking of getting a generator, Ike knocked us off line for 2 weeks last fall. There is a natural gas powered generator, if we get one that is what it will be. It comes on automatically when the electric power goes off.
Our 5k watt genny will run more than that and goes 24 hours on 5 gallons of gas and we always have 50 gallons or more in storage. Has 120/240 capability. We lived on it for a week in August of 07 when power went out due to massive floods. We do have to pick and choose what is on if we want to run either the range or the hot tub. It does not give good support to the Internet, though. We ran down the battery backup in a few hours. Only other problem with it is it has one of those rip cord starters and I can’t start it. If power goes out while DH is at work, I am screwed, especially if I need to have drainage pumps going. We have the transfer switch...don’t want to ever fry a lineman. I really want the propane version that starts automatically, though.
It isn’t fun, I agree.
Yeah. Yall took my post the wrong way. If you aren’t getting the services you are paying for then raise cain. I’m just saying things happen. Have a back up plan.
The problem we have with our generator is that it’s loud and let’s people know we are on backup if a light is on. This last summer we had to take turns on watch so that no one could steal it. We are really considering the propane ones but they are permanent and if we get rising water...well that’s a whole lot of money wasted.
HMM. I can’t top that....however I went 16 years in Texas without AC. Don’t know how we did it :’)
Where would you put it?
May I ask where you live? I have seen these comments before by FReepers that having the genny on makes them a target.
We are out in the country. Our closest neighbors are at least 1/8 mile away and most are 1/4 mile—1/2 mile. We have had the generator for over 10 years and used it a lot. Not once has there been even a hint of a threat. I have no idea if any of my neighbors have one or not.
Stealing it would be a chore. Not impossible, but it would involve disconnecting it from the transfer pole, getting it out of its *doghouse*, which is set into gravel, loading it on to a truck and by then, we would have a license number and have called the sheriff. Cheaper to buy one, IMO.
They are noisy and I hate that sort of racket. But it is a reassuring sort of noise when the power is out for an extended period. In flood, the generator is safe, here, but the sump pump in the wet cellar and the septic tank pump are vital in that sort of situation, which is the main reason for the genny in the first place.
The one digger was talking about is supposed to be quieter and you permanently mount it on a slab by the house and it automatically kicks on when the power goes out.
We would put it behind the garage.
During the weeks after hurricane Ike Houston had crews working here from lots of other states. The crew who finally (after 2 weeks) got us hooked up was from Georgia. A nicer bunch of guys I have never met, Mr. Ditter cooked a gumbo and we invited them all in to eat.
Yeah. I’m not sure where you live but would you raise it up off the pad?
Have yall heard of freezing fog? I was looking at my mom’ weather reports and there is a fog freeze watch.
We live in Houston and our property backs to a ravine that goes to Buffalo Bayou, ours has never flooded, if that is what you are asking. Would I want to raise it a little above the drive way level? Yes.
Sounds like Unitil should change its name to Inutil.
(Anyone know Spanish?)
It floods here but hasn’t got to the house. My neighbor told me that we did have a flood about 17 years ago of a foot or two though.
we didn’t think much about it then,i couldn’t do it now.
Or you can buy more than one gasoline can and purchase 3~4 days worth at a time. Which is what I did when the hurricane knocked my power out for 4 days. I couldn't run the A/C but we survived.
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