Nov 12, 2007 11:01 pm US/Central
ComEd Exposed: Falling Power Lines Pose Dangers
Is ComEd Putting Your Family's Safety At Risk?
AURORA, Ill. (CBS) ―
A cracked and rotted power line pole is held up by a small piece of rope and wire, creating a potential safety hazard for anyone walking or driving down the 700 block of May Street in Aurora.
The Commonwealth Edison pole is one of hundreds uncovered by a CBS 2 investigation into how the utility company repairs its aging infrastructure throughout Illinois.
The probe found poles supporting high voltage wires in desperate need of repair, including those split down the middle and wrapped in duct tape. Some appeared to be rotted out and severely leaning.
"That is something that could tip or fall over at any minute," said Brian Loomis, business manager for IBEW Local 15, the union which represents ComEd's lineman. "If the top part of the pole rots and the arm falls off or the wires fall down, you have a potential of public safety. It's a dangerous situation."
In just a few hours, the 2 Investigators found dozens of rotting poles in Aurora, including ones supporting power lines that have been "red tagged." There were multiple poles with tags in both the 500 blocks of Downer Place and Hoyles Avenue, the 700 block of Palace Street, and on larger poles along Old Indian Trail Road near Grand Avenue.
These tags identify the most critical poles that need to be monitored, fixed or replaced. The 2 Investigators turned over their findings to ComEd.
"We inspect our lines and poles on a periodic basis," said Carl Segneri, a ComEd vice president. "If there's something that has slipped through the cracks, I mean, we would catch it on the next inspection."
Aurora is not the only area where problem poles can be found. Segneri said ComEd has only about 1,200 poles in need of replacement yearly; a fraction of the 1.4 million poles in Illinois. Critics like Loomis say the number of poles in desperate need of repair is closer to 50,000.
In Elmhurst, Juliet Deadman said she had a rotting, leaning electrical pole in her back yard and couldn't get it fixed.
"In an attempt to replace the pole, I called ComEd at least once a day for a year," she said. "I called at least 360 times."
Finally, she contacted the Illinois Commerce Commission, the agency that regulates the utility company.
"ComEd came out 48 hours later and replaced the pole after I called the ICC," she said.
ComEd's Segneri apologized for the Deadman case, as well as the length of time it took the company to respond to a fire at the Hoffman Estates home of Bruce Smith. In August, a power line fell, shooting off sparks and flames into Smith's yard. It took nearly two hours for ComEd to cut the power to that line. According to Smith, it was the sixth time in the last three years that a power line fell in his neighborhood.
"The yards are to play in, not to worry about the power lines coming down," said Smith
Smith and other ComEd customers say when they call the company for repairs, they get temporary fixes. They believe that's the reason for other problems, including repeated power outages.
Kim Beck and a group of about 10 other Alsip homeowners say they've had 15 outages in the last 10 years. Beck said she and her neighbors are tired of the company apologizing but not fixing the problem.
"It's like they read it out of book: 'We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you,'" she said.
Segneri said ComEd's goal is to fix the problems. The company is reviewing a list of damaged and decaying Aurora power line poles.
"I would hope that they would immediately take care of the problem," said Loomis, who believes one reason repairs are not being made is because the company lacks the manpower to handle all of the work.
Another issue involves money. CBS 2 has learned ComEd managers and other workers get bonuses based, in part, on staying in or coming under budget.
"Our bonuses are based on, I'll call it a balanced score card," said Segneri. "It's budget, reliability, customer satisfaction and safety."
CBS 2 Investigative Producer Michele Youngerman contributed to this report.cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
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