Normal time to reconnect after service upgrade?

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jaggedben

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Northern California
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Solar and Energy Storage Installer
We have a pretty bad situation where the utility needs to reconnect a service drop (at their end, out at the poles) following a service upgrade on a residence. We were led to believe that it wouldn't take more than 24 hours after we notified the utility that we had AHJ approval and meter release. 24 hours later I was told they could do it in TEN DAYS. After much argument they are saying maybe in five days. Meanwhile we have a generator but it's undersized since we didn't expect it to have to run more than critical needs for one night. And we are paying to rent it, and it's a noise issue, etc. Customer is furious with us, we are furious with utility. Personally I've never heard of something like this taking more than 24 hours, although I haven't been directly involved in that many.

Anyway...
Question: How does a scheduled utility disconnect/reconnect normally work where you are and have you ever had to wait that long?
 
Assuming scheduled just hours.


The only time it has taken 24 hours was a Saturday repair, we called the electrical inspector to give the power company the OK but he was in another state, was drunk and did not remember his password for the utility. :D
 
jaggedben said:
Question: How does a scheduled utility disconnect/reconnect normally work where you are and have you ever had to wait that long?
Click to expand...
Request to kill power 24 hrs. prior to work, power restored within 24 hrs of completion. Never had to wait more than that. Five days is ridiculous. I'd make a temp connection on my own and have some doughnuts and a gift certificate to a steak house for the lineman when he comes to make the real connection so he would not tell on me.
 
ActionDave said:
Request to kill power 24 hrs. prior to work, power restored within 24 hrs of completion. Never had to wait more than that. Five days is ridiculous. I'd make a temp connection on my own and have some doughnuts and a gift certificate to a steak house for the lineman when he comes to make the real connection so he would not tell on me.
Click to expand...

That is good idea, The gift cert. I have done that before they love that.
 
This is an interesting post that maybe others around the country will chime in. In CT we are allowed to "cut and reconnect" with the two main POCO's. There is a smaller town that had there own utility that used to cut in the morning for you and then come back in the afternoon, but they now also allow cut and reconnect. I have never heard on anyone getting hurt, and of course only the electrician is supposed to do it. I had an incident myself once on a mast service, 2" ridgid, one leg slipped out of my hand and started welding to the conduit. I ripped it off and continued to connect it, much to the amazement of my helper:happyno:
 
It's always same day here with Florida Power & Light. I believe they are 3rd largest in the US.

OP: Are you dealing with some small rural utility?
 
Problem is likely that it is an investor owned utility company, and that if this is a dwelling the loss of energy sales is just a little dust in the bottom of a bucket, compared to some of the industrial customers who will be back on line within minutes of being ready to be energized again.
 
jaggedben said:
We have a pretty bad situation where the utility needs to reconnect a service drop (at their end, out at the poles) following a service upgrade on a residence. We were led to believe that it wouldn't take more than 24 hours after we notified the utility that we had AHJ approval and meter release. 24 hours later I was told they could do it in TEN DAYS. After much argument they are saying maybe in five days. Meanwhile we have a generator but it's undersized since we didn't expect it to have to run more than critical needs for one night. And we are paying to rent it, and it's a noise issue, etc. Customer is furious with us, we are furious with utility. Personally I've never heard of something like this taking more than 24 hours, although I haven't been directly involved in that many.

Anyway...
Question: How does a scheduled utility disconnect/reconnect normally work where you are and have you ever had to wait that long?
Click to expand...

For residential, it happens immediately because we do it ourselves. :cool:
 
kwired said:
Problem is likely that it is an investor owned utility company, and that if this is a dwelling the loss of energy sales is just a little dust in the bottom of a bucket, compared to some of the industrial customers who will be back on line within minutes of being ready to be energized again.
Click to expand...

What you and GerryB said: Investor companies ought to be forced to go private, if not municipal.
I know, pipe dream, but when it's an investor owned, they only care about share prices, and not the customers:
http://articles.courant.com/2011-09..._major-utilities-electricity-own-power-plants
 
Nutmegger said:
What you and GerryB said: Investor companies ought to be forced to go private, if not municipal.
I know, pipe dream, but when it's an investor owned, they only care about share prices, and not the customers:
http://articles.courant.com/2011-09..._major-utilities-electricity-own-power-plants
Click to expand...

Be careful what you wish for. Municipal utilities are not subject to public service commission oversight and regulation. I have seen them hike rates astronomically to cover bond debt from bad management. The rate payers are the victims of bad management and planning. I'll take a PSC regulated utility over municipal any day, but maybe that's because my experience is with big PSC regulated utilities and small municipal utilities.
 
Though not so likely to happen anymore, many years ago a small municipal POCO supervisor gave my boss an extension pole and told us to pull and reinstall the primary fuses ourselves rather then get him out of bed in the middle of the night when we got done with our changes.
 
jaggedben said:
We have a pretty bad situation where the utility needs to reconnect a service drop (at their end, out at the poles) following a service upgrade on a residence. We were led to believe that it wouldn't take more than 24 hours after we notified the utility that we had AHJ approval and meter release. 24 hours later I was told they could do it in TEN DAYS. After much argument they are saying maybe in five days. Meanwhile we have a generator but it's undersized since we didn't expect it to have to run more than critical needs for one night. And we are paying to rent it, and it's a noise issue, etc. Customer is furious with us, we are furious with utility. Personally I've never heard of something like this taking more than 24 hours, although I haven't been directly involved in that many.

Anyway...
Question: How does a scheduled utility disconnect/reconnect normally work where you are and have you ever had to wait that long?
Click to expand...

If they led you to believe that you could get a reconnect in 24 hours did they give any reason for the delay?

I have had two reconnects delayed in the last 20 years (not normal) and both times there was a problem. Once their computer was down and another time the city was down ( all inspectors were out sick or other problems). Normally things work pretty smooth. I have never had them tell me it would take ten days, maybe an extra day or two until things were back to normal.
 
mgookin said:
Be careful what you wish for. Municipal utilities are not subject to public service commission oversight and regulation. I have seen them hike rates astronomically to cover bond debt from bad management. The rate payers are the victims of bad management and planning. I'll take a PSC regulated utility over municipal any day, but maybe that's because my experience is with big PSC regulated utilities and small municipal utilities.
Click to expand...

Here in new England municple electric is the best. Much cheaper and outstanding customer service
 
Without going into detail, the power is reconnected now. Thank you for the responses and comments that I'm not way off base in my expectations.
 
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