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| Is that rod hanging down an attempt to sabotage Progressive Charlestown? |
Is this a lesson that we have to report remaining outages to get attention or some evil plot?
We have been checking the Outage Central map on National Grid regularly to see if there is some progress to getting our electricity restored. After they fixed the major damage along South County Trail (photo in this article) the fire station near The Gentleman Farmer got power restored (and The Farmer too - Fish & Chips and Meatball Parmesan Torpedo for us last night!) so I checked the map again. I was pleased to see that the National Grid map showed that our entire area was restored with no remaining problems. (There were still some large areas still shown without power in Columbia Heights and along Carolina Back Road.)
With that good news I figured I could turn my generator off. But then I tried some light switches and found that we were powerless. After studying the map for a while my mind drifted to Will's story about Harriett Lloyd. And I wondered - is this just a coincidence? So I went out to investigate!
Our power lines run from Laurie Drive so that was my first destination. My faithful research assistant and I found that the lights were out there too. The mystery deepens. I talked to some friends there and was told that they knew of no damage to the lines. Then I noticed the sight in the photo above at the corner of Route 2 and Laurie Drive. Our electricity has been disconnected!
No damage to the lines. Most of Charlestown with electricity.The line to the Progressive Charlestown East bureau office mysteriously disconnected. This sounds like the work of some nefarious scoundrels!
Well I'm certainly not going up that pole to try switching the power on. It's something like 13,000 volts! So I did the only thing I could think of, report the outage to National Grid. And I encouraged my neighbors to do the same. By this morning we could see that we are raising the problem to their attention. And National Grid says they will have it fixed by September 5! Hold it, September 5?
Ok, the generator is getting tired so I have to wrap this article up fast.
The lesson is that if you are without power or know someone who is, check that map and see if National Grid even knows about it. And report your outage at 1-800-465-1212.
Hold it ... if you report your problems it might take them longer to fix mine. Please disregard this article.
Except to check the town website regularly for updates and, if you haven't, sign up for the community notification service that the town runs. It's been great to hear Bill DiLibero's soothing voice once a day or so.
Author: Tom Ferrio