MEA linemen work against the weather

PALMER - It was snowing sideways with 40 mph gusts Wednesday.

A dozen or so households on Outer Springer Loop Road had been without power since Monday night and now it was their turn to get power turned back on.

Matanuska Electric Association lineman Tim Fannin tweaked and turned the hydraulic extension arm until his bucket brought him nose to nose with a bad transformer 20 feet high, nestled among tightly clustered live power lines.

Hand me a line cover, he yelled down to his ground man Mike Crommett, who immediately obliged. I want to live a long and prosperous life.

The covers protect him from coming in contact with a live line, Crommett said, especially in these windy conditions.

The Valleys recent flow of heavy winds, produced by a huge, banana-shaped low pressure area streaming from as far south as Hawaii, brought moist warm air into our cold region, dumping so much snow on the Valley that residents who measured snowfall had to do so with a yardstick.

Just about when we repair a line, snow buildup will cause it to go bad again, Fannin said, adjusting his hood to fight the wind. Or, in the case of this transformer, extreme temperatures could have caused it to go bad.

This week, MEA switchboard operators can barely manage to keep up to date with the recorded power outage information.

I will try to keep as many households on as I can, even if I have to keep one or two homes without power until we get the problem fixed, Fannin said. Our main concern is to get the majority on line as soon as possible.

When we get to a repair area, he said, we try to talk to the residents and add up all the different stories to help figure out the problem.

He conferred with local resident Bill Burns, who has been heating his home with a gas stove since Monday nights power outage.

I just explained to (MEA) that I saw giant sparks flying off the transformer, Burns said. Then there was a loud buzz and . . . wham! There went the power. And Im damn happy they are here now.

The recent heavy snowfall and high winds forced thousands of MEA customers to rely on alternate heat sources. And repair crews turned out in full force to fix the problems Mother Nature unleashed upon them.

You have to respect them, Burns wife Sam said of the linemen. I wouldnt want to be out working in this weather.

Palmer and Wasilla were not the only places that experienced power problems this week.

At one point this weekend, we had 2,000 to 3,000 people without power from Eagle River to Chickaloon and as far north as Trapper Creek, MEA spokesperson Bruce Scott said. We have been whittling away at them around the clock since the storm. Now (Wednesday) were down to about 50 homes without power.

Although there are many reasons for power failures, the recent snowstorm is to blame for most, if not all of them.

One common weather-related problem MEA has is when dirt (or silt) and ice compounded with blowing snow accumulate on power pole circuits called cutouts, causing them to arc and short out. But the majority of the recent power outages were due to stress from heavy wet snow on lines and trees.

The most common shutdowns weve been getting, Fannin said, are snow buildup on lines or snow buildup on trees that are within striking distance of a line.

Snow and ice will build up on several lines in close proximity, causing them to droop, Fannin said. The lines slap together and wrap around each other when one line releases its burden, causing an outage, he said.

Utility companies always catch flack from home owners about cutting back trees contained within the confines of its easements, but the reasons become obvious after a significant winter storm. Trees dont necessarily have to fall on lines to cause an outage. They just have to get close.

Trees accumulate so much snow weight that it bends them over onto the lines, or the tree bends back up after it loses the weight, Scott said. The problem is that a lot of the trees causing outages are outside the right of way. MEA has a full-time clearing crew that works year round.

We can tell a property owner that their 60-foot cottonwood is in danger of falling on a line, but out of respect to property owners, we cant do any preventive maintenance outside the easement.

MEA has explored other options for high-tension lines. One alternative to the snow-prone lines is to bury them.

One of the drawbacks to underground lines is that we have concerns about earthquakes, MEA board member Bill Folsom said. If we have another 64, it may be difficult to find them. But we still bury them, even though they are more expensive to repair.

Its possible that people have become complacent about Alaskas weather.

Weve also had several mild winters in a row and people have become accustomed to reliable electricity, Scott said. Weve had a lot of turnover in the Valley and new residents are less likely to be prepared for a power outage.