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!

Desperate Salem, New Hampshire Residents Get Creative

This is what I wrote yesterday to make myself feel better about the lack of power!!


Desperate Salem Residents Add a Little Humor to Their Plea for Power

After five days without electricity, one of Santa's little helpers gets creative. One resident who lives down West Duston Road in Salem, NH decided to take the initiative and leave a note for National Grid and ask for electrical poles.

How was the note delivered?

With Christmas-colored spray paints and two pieces of plywood tied to a street sign, one West Duston resident wrote a note.

"National Grid, we need poles ? Forgotten :-( ."

In the holiday spirit, the note also contained an artistic rendition of a holiday wreath.

Did this letter to National Grid help?

Uncertain that the creative communication did the trick, the many phone calls from the residents of West Duston, or time and patience, but as of Tuesday, National Grid was finally present and working to address the issue.

Even though the residents do not have power yet, the desperate, displaced, and stinky residents want to thank the unnamed author of the note and National Grid for paying attention.

Ice Storm and Writing

Good morning everyone!

So I have been without power due to an ice storm for 5 days now. The only reason I can even write this blog is because I am sitting in Panera where several other people are trying to get a break from the bleak cold and darkness of our powerless homes. Yesterday I had to throw all food out of my refrigerator and freezer before the smell killed me. Ugh!

Beyond the obvious, this storm and the after effects has put a hurting on my creativity. Even though I have lots of time, I don't have any desire to write due to the simple fact that all I want is my power back and the situation is all encompassing.

And since I tend to write better with my computer this has been an even bigger challenge when you have no power and the battery life on a computer is minimal. Not to mention that without power there is also no internet access...ergo Panera.

The worst part of all this is the rudeness of the poer folks when you call to ask if they have a clue when my street will be set. The kicker came for me the other day when I saw that all streets around me had power including the dang amusement park next door (that's not even open for business) and my lonely street is just waiting.

Last night someone even painted a sign and set it on the very well lit street corner that asked, "National Grid, did you forget about us?" That sign actually lifted my spirits because I was glad to see I was not the only one upset by their lack of response. :-)

Anyway, my third novel was on quite a roll but now I'm trying just to hit 50000 words by end of year instead of completing the novel. Oh, and impossible to research when you have no internet access.

I'll try to write again soon and hopefully with good news of power having been restored.