[ale] Not so evil empire

[Robert Reese]

Hello David,

Thursday, July 16, 2009, 10:49:44 AM, you wrote:

> These are actually called 'reclosers'. They have to be reset after the
> 3rd cycle, but it is not a replacement issue, but does require a
> lineman with a hotstick to reset them.

Ah, gotta love new technology.


> However, if it trips out it means either
>    1) monster winds are slapping together adjacent phases of the high
> lines together or
>    2) something fell across the phase  or
>    3) or a line fell to ground or
>    4) lightning hit some switch gear or
>    5) an underground cable shorted out a phase or ...

Some of those I knew but and some I never thought about or had forgotten.  Thanks :)


> Unfortuantely, this requires some one to go out and drive around, or
> at least look at a section map to see if they can correlate 'lights
> out' reports to a particular phase
> being out, etc...All of these things will happen before the recloser
> is reset, most likely.

> I recommend that if you have a 'lights out' situation, you call the
> automated trouble reporting line immediately from your home phone.
> This must be a regular phone (unless you have your cordless phone on a
> UPS), as it does the account/address lookup at Georgia Power via ANI
> information (i.e. your phone #) as passed from the phone company.

Aha!  That explains why they WANT you to call in to the AUTOMATED system.  Triangulation.  You'd think that with IP over Power Lines would allow for UID repeaters to report into the main computer.   But I think our power companies aren't yet that advanced... only with billing, apparently.


> If you are in a location where the bill does not go to your address,
> you need the account # to report power out. No account #, no report
> (at least I have never seen a way to do it).
> This is most commonly a problem with businesses (for example, my
> wife's H&R Block office had this problem due to not knowing the
> account code).

Great advice, thank you.  And thank you for correcting, clarifying, and expanding on my post. :)  Just to add, I noticed GAPWR picked up my caller ID and knew my location by cross-referencing the number with the street address.


> 3 phase into a home? never heard of that happening. I am not event
> certain you can do that under NEC. The biggest reason you need 3 phase
> power is for large industrial motors or extremely large current
> requirements. (3 phase motors inherently always  have two legs that
> have energy moving through them, unlike a single phase where voltage
> crosses through 0 volts 120 times a second).
> You would need to show commerical use. But I could be wrong... just
> based on my experience in the SCADA group at Knoxville Utilities Board
> many many years ago.... 

I don't know the particulars, but my memory and knowledge extends from working a couple of years with a GAPWR/Sprint/etc. sub-contractor (many, many years ago), running both service lines and local transmission lines (I can't remember the _right_ term for them) into neighborhoods, commercial developments, and the occasional private homeowner that needed services GAPWR didn't offer or contracted for crazy money.

I do remember quite a few custom homes getting 3-Phase service.  What the requirements or procedures are to acquire it is, I do not know.  My guess it is more utility provider specific and local ordnance specific.  I also remember that I was, and am, determined to get 3-Phase when my wife and I finally build our own home.

Please jump in and correct me when I'm wrong, old, or both, as I'd rather be corrected than not.

Cheers,
Robert~