This
article was written by Manager of Operations Todd Shaner, System Engineer Joel
Mietzner, and Manager of Engineering Mark Tilstra. Todd joined OPALCO’s line
crew in 1980; he recently left his foreman position to accept the position of
Manager of Operations. Joel became system engineer this past March, and Mark,
who has been with OPALCO since 1990, has managed the engineering department
since December 2002.
For the past two years, OPALCO has been in the process of replacing a major part of its aging submarine cable system between Thatcher and Obstruction Pass. When completed, the new system will enhance OPALCO’s capability to transmit power in a reliable and cost efficient manner for decades to come.
One of the final steps of updating this portion of our transmission system was rebuilding the pole structures where the submarine cables terminate. The existing structures were 30 to 40 years old and were near the end of their expected life. As the new structures were being rebuilt, it was sometimes necessary to turn off the power to portions of the system so our crews could work safely and expeditiously. Unfortunately, some of our members were inconvenienced, and for this, we sincerely apologize. As much as we would like to avoid outages, however, working safely is always our top priority.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, there was one unplanned outage during the scheduled work. During this outage, some of our members experienced a surge which damaged or destroyed some of their equipment. We are very sorry this happened. Most often, voltage surges or sags, which can damage household equipment, originate from within individual households rather than from the power provider. We would like to prevent this type of occurrence from happening again to any of our members, so to minimize damage and ensure that your equipment will operate in good condition for years to come, please make sure that:
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Your power panels and equipment are properly grounded
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The wire serving your equipment is sized properly
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Your equipment is not exposed to moisture or abuse
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Sensitive electronic equipment has its own local surge protection (for more information on surge protection, call Energy Management Coordinator Martha Warachowski at 376-3571)
From time to time, there are also unplanned outages due to faulting cables, falling trees, equipment failure, birds etc. To reduce the frequency and duration of these outages, older underground cables are being replaced with higher quality cables better suited for our island soil, bird guards are being installed on transmission and distribution power poles, and superior maintenance procedures are being implemented for new and existing equipment.
In light of so many recent natural disasters, every household needs to have an emergency plan in place which includes food supplies, fresh drinking water, emergency survival gear, etc. OPALCO’s website offers a good summary on emergency preparedness.
OPALCO does not provide emergency generation, so it is important for each member to assess their own tolerance for loss of power during an emergency. Portable generators can be very helpful during outages, but it is important to use them safely to protect the people using them as well as the linemen restoring power to your home. OPALCO encourages everyone to read all the information and follow instructions on safety, installation, maintenance and testing of their portable generators. Before you use your portable generator during a power outage, turn off the main power switch or breaker in your home. Don’t overload the generator – use it only when necessary and only to power essential equipment. Plug appliances directly into the generator itself. Use a qualified, licensed electrician to connect a generator to your main electrical supply.
OPALCO’s goal is to create the most cost effective and reliable electric system possible. We appreciate the understanding of our members during any outages that occur. We also appreciate the cooperation of members, including installation and maintenance of appropriate service equipment, calling OPALCO during outages and using standby generators in a responsible, safe way. Together, we can build a quality system that everyone will be very proud of.
