New England power companies versus Mother Nature

After an early snowstorm, once again hundreds of thousands of power company customers are without power. Upwards of 600,000 plus people. No heat, no electricity, no hot water, no nothing.

Some people went to friends and families who still have power, some joined gyms so they can take a shower, some have or bought a generator just to be able to stay warm and keep food from spoiling.

Why should paying customers have to do this?

The power companies would have you believe it’s due to Mother Nature. But I and many other people would disagree. Mother Nature didn’t forget to trim the trees near power lines. Mother Nature didn’t use inferior cabling. Mother Nature didn’t put the cabling on a line 20+ feet in the air where wind, rain, trees, and heavy snow can wreak all kinds of havoc.

Ask yourself this question. “Why does this happen every year in New England but not in the Midwest?”

I grew up in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. School was never cancelled due to a snowstorm or loss of power. Hundreds of thousands of people did not, do not, lose power every winter for days on end. Your neighbors have a generator? Not where I grew up.

So if this doesn’t occur everywhere why does it occur here?

The answer is simple. The power companies are not looking at the root cause and fixing the issue. Instead, they use Mother Nature as the scapegoat and let the paying customers suffer.

I would bet that if the power companies had to pay a fee or reimburse every person or home for what they expend due to the power company’s negligence or irresponsibility they would quickly look at the bigger picture and determine a better avenue than to constantly repair what will only break again.

All of this being said, I want you to understand that I admire and appreciate all the power line people coming from various places across the country to help restore power to more than 600,000 plus customers. These are not the people who caused the issue. They are the people diligently working around the clock trying to get everyone hooked back up on electricity with heat in their homes, and a hot shower waiting for them in the morning.

To all power line workers - Your time and effort are very much appreciated! But I wish you home safe and sound to your own families soon.

To all the New England power companies. It's time to stop blaming Mother Nature. Get off your proverbial duffs and fix the root cause. And if you can’t figure it out for yourselves then I highly recommend you reach out to your counterparts in the Midwest and find out what they do that is right and how you can do the same thing.

Take that money that we pay you and do the right thing. Bury the dang lines! If the companies had to pay a $5 fine per day per person that is affected or even per household I would bet you could get a good start on fixing the issue. Do it!