2 days free for every one day without power?

[Ryan Salo]

I have been thinking in the dark recently about how everyone affected by the storm is at the mercy of a privately held monopoly with no real penalty for taking weeks to get things fixed. I am wondering if legislation, that requires utility companies to reimburse 2 days worth of service for every one day missed would force these companies to get things fixed quicker. Obviously storms like this are rare, but I have had challenges with first energy for years with a transformer on my back yard, that finally exploded during the storm. Unlike phone or Internet companies I cannot really stop giving first energy business since they own everything.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Ryan Salo]

As I was reading about potential penalties for utility companies i came across some interesting information.

mobile.nj.com/advnj/pm_29221/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=lHgWZWyn

First energy's new jersey company has been threatened with an increase to the per day fee for outages, from $100 to $25000 a day. Now it makes perfect sense for them to strip us of our workers to make sure they make a good impression on the legislators in NJ. Obviously penalties work.

[Esther Hazlett]

Are you suggesting that the government get involved in the dealings of a private company?

[Ryan Salo]

Esther,
not sure if you are serious or not. Government has been regulating utilites forever. Free market rules dont really apply for monopolies like these.

[Corey Rossen]

I would be happy with a bucket of chicken wings and a few hundred dollar bills (hold the celery).
Corey

[Jim DeVito]

I will take Corey's celery. I would also be happy if someone would come and remove this...



Neighbor talked about chainsawing it ourselves but there is all the white "live wire tape" around and that sounded like a bad idea.

Also i'm all for added regulation. That is the only way these monopolies / duopolies work even a little.

It should also be said since I know someone in the know that they are all working round the clock as fast and as safe as they can. Let just remember to hate the system not the guys in cherry pickers.

[Myra Beckrest]

There is a huge problem at First Energy in determining 'what's important', in my opinion.

A few years ago, the huge and very old tree in my backyard (now removed) snapped a branch off during a storm that was the size of a large tree. One end landed on my neighbors garage behind me and the other was suspended in the air, held up by a knot on the tree that was pulling down all 10 wires running between my backyard and the neighbors.

It took almost a week to convince someone that it was a problem. The reps on the phone kept telling me that they had more important clean-up to do after the storm. Someone must have gotten wise to checking it out because at 2am one morning a First Energy truck and a crane showed up on the street, only to be escorted away by the police to do their job during daylight hours.

They told me that had the branch snapped the wires it could have caused a fire-ball down the entire stretch of powerlines... I live on Maile, my neighbors behind me are on West Clifton. That could have been tragic.