20110315Comment.pdf

Jean Jewell
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zotz(§atcnet. net
Monday, March 14,20112:17 PM
Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from ernie hendricks follows:
Case Number: RMP True-up cost proposal #? PAt-(.-I/~Or¡
Name: ernie hendricks
Address: 6336 N old hwy 191
City: malad city
State: idaho
Zip: 83252
Daytime Telephone:
Contact E-Mail: zotz~atcnet.net
Name of Utility Company: Rocky Mtn Power
Acknowledge: acknowledge
Please describe your comment briefly:
r oppose the proposed RMP rate increase on top of the one that they just received. A couple
of weeks ago the transformer on the power pole behind my property caught fire. r called the
power co and the Oneida Sheriffs office. It took over three hours for the local utility
repairman to come by - His dispatcher in Utah sent him 2Ø miles in the wrong direction in the
middle of a blizzard where he seearched high and low for the burning pole. finally, they gave
him our phone # and he contacted us. Once he had the right information he came right out,
however, due the this error - the pole burned thru causing the transformer to tip over and
spill in to the nearby 3Ø3-D listed stream and for the power for our area to turn off. Once
the poor repairman did arrive in the middle of the night He did a good job in the blizzard
disconnecting the line to the burning pole - which burned the whole night ( as it was off the
main road and could not be driven to) and eventually turned the power on again. The next day
a crew out of Preston had to come out and replace the transfomer and pole ( after a front end
loader was used to clear a path to the pole thru the snow leaving big ruts in the ground ).
According to the repair crew they have had over 6ØØØ transformers fail thruout the utility as
they were bought cheap ( Chinese, maybe ? or some backhanders for faulty equipment being
purchased). It seems that RMP needs to be looked closely into about their criteria for
purchasing materials and the 'efficiency , of their system for keeping power on and making
sure that the repairmen are sent in the right direction and not 2Ø miles the wrong way. From
talking with others, it seems common for misinformation to be given to their repair personnel
causing increased hardships for both the employee and the consumer. Also, we have complained
repeatly about the constant 'bumps' we get 2 or 3 times a night several nights a week where
the power cuts off and on. I have had to disable by audio-visual smoke alarm system ( as my
wife is deaf) due to the constant bumping. this has been going on for the last 8 years. Once
we complian it gets better for a few days and then starts up again. RMP says that is if bird
poop on the lines that causes it. Does that sound reasonable. When we were customers with
Idaho Power. they never had bumps like this - are there no birds around Idaho Power lines but
only around RMP lines. RMP needds to clean up their act before they are given any more money.
They are the only game in town so we are stuck with them or we live off the grid. As such,
they need to do a better job of keeping costs down. What does 3 hours emergency repair mans
salary, 1 transformer, 1 new pole, 1 front loader rental plus a 1/2 day for a repair crew to
install the new pole cost versus doing it right the first time. ( not counting having the
front end loader back again to unstick the repair crews trucks from the mud. RMP needs
looking into closely before the get any more money. We asked RMP where the screwup was on
the delay in getting the repairman out but they have not responded yet to us on this.