CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tens of thousands of residents in Northeast Ohio may have to wait until next week for power to be restored, stirring up emotions and sparking many theories about what went wrong and why it might take so long to restore service.
We asked our readers for their opinion. Are these outages an indication of poor maintenance of the infrastructure? Has FirstEnergy saved money by not sending crews to inspect the numerous connections to keep them sealed? Is the wind to blame? Or is the system in poor condition?
We received numerous and very different answers. Here is a selection.
- I have CPP and have for the 30 years I have lived in this house. The last year or so has been difficult as the power has gone out at least 8 times and I believe all but one have been in the winter. Because of my disability my pain increases significantly. My brother who lives a half mile away also has CPP and never has a power outage. He has a different transformer. I read online a while ago that Texas and Ohio are the two states with the most power outages. My sister in North Olmsted lives in a development where the outside streets are regularly never without power but my sister lives on the inside of the outside streets and has power outages very frequently. I can’t afford a generator, have been disabled since I was 39. I don’t know what to do anymore.
- The repairs at CEI have been a thorn in my side for years. They have reduced the number of repair crews to an absolute minimum over the years. There is, or once was, a repair shop in Concord that used to house a number of aerial work platforms. That is now gone. It is likely that both the extent of the damage and the slow repairs are due to lack of maintenance and inadequate staffing. The TV news advertises how hard the repair crews work, ignoring the obvious question, how many crews are working? Compared to 10 years ago? 15 years ago? Find out!
- This really shows how important underground wiring is, maybe not in all areas, but especially where there are critical connections. This could prevent major power outages. There has been no modernization at all. … wires should be underground. … instead we continue to string the wires up on poles. Geauga County is a disaster area … on our street alone (12 houses) trees are either lying on power lines or have knocked them down.
- 90% of the area outside of downtown is back roads covered by trees, wires, and poles. My coworkers have had to add an HOUR to their 15 minute commute because EVERY SINGLE ROAD near them is closed. Please send someone to the scene who can actually SEE and EXPERIENCE this damage.
- They’ve already started doing this in some places, like Chardon and Willoughby, but Chesterland (one of the towns, if not THE town, that was affected) will be without power until next WEDNESDAY. THAT needs to be covered. This is crazy and ridiculous.
- I think climate change is also a factor. Until recently, we haven’t had tornadoes. Not only tornadoes, but the high winds seem to be a new phenomenon to me. Are these storms reducing tree cover and opening previously forested areas to invasive species? A friend who lives in a forested area above the Chagrin River has lost more than two dozen trees on his property alone, and there are a few dozen other houses down the street.
- Maybe they would spend less on bribes, stadium naming and public relations and instead spend more on maintaining and improving infrastructure and serving the public good…
- The problems should be addressed and fixed. Unfortunately, our politicians are so beholden to FirstEnergy that any problems are quickly swept under the rug and nothing changes. How about making PUCO a private regulator so that government officials don’t appoint the chair? Or should the board be elected and not appointed? As it stands today, the fox is the gardener. Until this is fixed, we will have no solutions.
- We live in Avon in an area with newer homes. The wires that come into our homes are buried underground. However, these wires get their source from poles. While much of the community is and has been without power, our lights have never blinked so often. Buried wires may be the solution. I feel sorry for those who don’t have power. In 1969, we were without power for two days. No fun!
- Maybe First Energy or our government should consider laying the electrical lines without grounding. Especially in areas with historical crisis status. The “forest city” causes a lot of problems when these 150 year old trees are cut down.
- My mantra for the last 60 years has been, “Greed rules the world.” And it’s true. Big corporations, as a whole, are beholden to their shareholders’ dividends, not their customers. Not their safety, not their wallets, not their inconveniences. That’s because they make so much money that they join the world of corporate whores. Greed. I sound like a leftover hippie.
- I walk my dog an average of five miles a day here in Avon Lake. Last summer, I saw tree crews along Walker Road digging about three feet down around each wooden power pole. I asked a tree crew about this and they said they were checking the poles for rot. Some were replaced in late summer, others had a thin layer of rotten wood removed and then some kind of protective coating applied. I don’t think they were FirstEnergy tree crews, but rather an outside contractor. Now Walker Road, just west of Jaycox, is in a big mess. The problem there is that there is a stand of large, tall old trees about twenty to thirty feet from the lines, and some of them fell on the lines and brought them down. I remember watching tree trimming crews working along Walker Road a few months ago, trimming branches that were too close to the lines. Presumably, to truly protect the system, the trees will need to be removed entirely, but since they are on private property, this would be complicated or perhaps even impossible. I wonder if it’s time to replace wooden poles with sturdier metal ones and try to minimize their exposure to large old trees. Of course, when the power lines were originally built, the trees were probably small or nonexistent. As the frequency of severe weather continues to increase, some big, costly solutions are surely needed. I’d rather pay for that than subsidize out-of-state coal-fired power plants.
- Explain how to do maintenance when trees fall in a storm. I know people who have paid professionals to do maintenance on their trees for the past two years and now have to have major repairs done because of falling branches. In fact, my neighbor had it done just last month. I understand that you see the problems as just bad companies taking advantage of poor people.
- We are all dependent…but if you fool me once, you’re a disgrace. If you disappoint me twice, you’re a disgrace… Any of us who depend on centralized utilities need to take matters into our own hands. Buy a $50 inverter for your car battery and an extension cord. Buy a $300 battery backup system and a plug-in. Buy a $1,000 dual-fuel inverter generator. Buy a $3,000 whole-house natural gas generator with an automatic transfer switch. We all have options. We can no longer rely on a utility infrastructure that is so sensitive to Mother Nature (wires in the wind). By the way, the conversion to underground power is only possible in new construction.
- I think it’s just not fair to blame FE for the situation. I doubt the best maintained systems could withstand tornadoes and 100mph winds. Yes, you have to give them credit for a rainstorm causing power outages, but how about showing some leniency under these circumstances? And let’s give credit to the teams who are working without sleep and in other tough conditions to get everything sorted for customers!
- I have lived in the Chicago suburb of Naperville for over 23 years. Naperville is one of the largest suburbs in the Chicago metropolitan area and has its own power grid. In all of those 23 years, the power has been out once or maybe twice for very short periods of time (less than an hour). Since we moved back to Ohio about three years ago, the power has been out several times for longer periods of time. Is that the benefit of living in a red state where the politicians have the power companies in their pockets??
- I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many trees and power lines and closed roads while biking through Geauga County yesterday. That was just a major storm with a lot of damage – maybe it’s more climate change causing even worse weather extremes. I saw countless utility workers dealing with problems – but also many, many downed lines.
- Given the frequency of outages, wouldn’t it be a great investment to put the lines underground? It would save labor and money in the long run, and customers would be spared product loss, deaths, and general suffering.
- The evidence shows that FirstEnergy was negligent in their work. I have a son who has lived in Corpus Christi for 7 years. Despite the many tropical storms, etc., he has never had a power outage.
- You read my mind. Legislators’ hostility to solar and wind power, along with FirstEnergy’s actions in support of aging coal-fired power plants, haven’t helped. Remember the overgrown branches of the trees in Walton Hills that knocked out power across the eastern half of the U.S.?
