POCO Response to Flickering Lights:

[rattus]

Problem: Flickering lights in at least four neighboring houses. So bad at times that the computer shuts down. Now that is serious.

1st trip: Tech looks at the transformer from the ground and does a load test. Can?t see anything wrong. Tells neighbor to call electrician.

2nd trip: Tech wiggles the secondary cables with a long pole. Can?t see anything wrong.

3rd trip: Tech installs recording voltmeter in my meter base.

4th trip: I urge tech to get in the bucket and take a close look at the transformer. Finds a loose bushing. Should have done this on the first trip!

5th trip: Replace transformer a couple of hours later. Problem is no more!

Anyone else have such experiences?

 

[hockeyoligist2]

Sure have, yesterday! Some construction is going on next to one of our plants and a dump truck took out the ground wire. The operator called POCO and reported the power out. POCO came out spliced the ground and left. Didn't even check the fuse links at the pole, 2 of them were blown out! Thank God we have loss phase protection! Or I would be replacing a lot of motors.

 

[bphgravity]

I once worked for an agricultural facility that was one of the largest consumers of electrical power in South Florida. When we had a problem on one of our services or a utility issue on the complex, Florida Power and Light would correct the problem within 2 hours of it being reported - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There were occasions where I was on-call during a bad storm and FPL had actually beat meet to the complex.

Once I started contracting, I found out that not everyone gets this same service. Nothing like waiting around 5+ hours or a service reconnect while the homeowner is screaming in your ear about all the food they are loosing in the fridge....

 

[rattus]

The POCOs are a bit like the Army doctors. If they see something wrong, they do something about it. My beef is that I had to prod the tech into doing the obvious to isolate the problem. The transformer was then replaced post haste.

 

[wirenut1980]

Problem: Flickering lights in at least four neighboring houses. So bad at times that the computer shuts down. Now that is serious.

1st trip: Tech looks at the transformer from the ground and does a load test. Can?t see anything wrong. Tells neighbor to call electrician.

2nd trip: Tech wiggles the secondary cables with a long pole. Can?t see anything wrong.

3rd trip: Tech installs recording voltmeter in my meter base.

4th trip: I urge tech to get in the bucket and take a close look at the transformer. Finds a loose bushing. Should have done this on the first trip!

5th trip: Replace transformer a couple of hours later. Problem is no more!

Anyone else have such experiences?

The serviceman might have been new, or just not very knowledgeable. He should have known that this problem probably was with the transformer since the problem existed in multiple houses in close proximity. We usually skip directly to a voltmeter at the service if it is just one customer complaining. The majority of the time, the voltage is well within the limits we are held to. I just talked with a customer who thought he had a flickering problem when his wife was telling him that the bathroom lights flickered when she turned on her hairdryer.

 

[hockeyoligist2]

quote "I just talked with a customer who thought he had a flickering problem when his wife was telling him that the bathroom lights flickered when she turned on her hairdryer." Quote


My girlfriend was complaining about the lights flickering in "her" bathroom right after we get up. About the time I turn on my Coffee maker. She said there is something wrong with it!!!!!! So I asked does it happen when you dry your hair? She said Yes..............I take care of duties then turn on the coffee maker so she is out of the shower drying her hair about the same time!

 

[mdshunk]

I go through this nearly every time I call in a loose neutral. I have resorted to getting up and examining the H-taps or Ampacts with my own bucket truck at times, so that the lineman can't give me any lame excuses. I have purchased my own "Beast of Burden" tool to do my own load tests for loose hots and neutrals. The more you can narrow down the exact problem, the more likely you are to get a good repair from the lineman on the first visit.