Springtime Update

Aaah, I love to be asked my opinion, don't you?  After the last electrical outage I wrote about I received a call from our energy supplier to ask how I would rate the customer service I received. I was in the middle of preparing dinner for a guest and TBO, but I put them off so I could give the energy company my FULL attention.

This survey was being done by a REAL, LIVE person, who responded to me with more than press 1 for most satisfied, 2 for satisfied...etc. which was remarkable, to say the least.  I felt that someone who could actually do something for my frustration was actually listening to me.  This lovely person also asked me what they could do to improve their customer service!  Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles...so I gave them my opinion.  I asked that the company give courtesy calls to let people sitting in the dark know that the automated system had, indeed, submitted the notification to the powers that be, or not be.  I truly did not believe this was something they would implement, but a girl can dream, right?

Skip forward one week.

TBO and I are sitting in the living room, minding our own business enjoying a DVD, when BOOM, the lights and everything disappear.  Our transformer has blown, AGAIN.  There is no weather involved this time, just out of the blue loss...could have been a squirrel, but who knows?

We look out and realize that we are the only ones without power...not a happy thought.

I pull out my trusty cell phone and electric bill to give the asked for id number, (which I may have memorized by the next outage) and get the automated service...rats!  This very pleasant voice tells me that they will get right on our outage and that we should have service returned within 2-3 hours.  TBO and I laugh and scoff, the outage is less than 3 minutes old and they are saying that we'll have power in a matter of a couple of hours?

Suddenly, the home phone rings.  (TBO has connected it to a UPS which is protecting our computer.)  It is the energy company checking up on us!  OH MY GOODNESS!  They have someone in the area who will be out to our house within minutes.  Sure, we think.  We load up into the truck to go find a movie, discover that at the first theater there is nothing we want to see, and realize we have left both phones at home.  

Head back to the hacienda for said phones and lo and behold, the energy company is, indeed, there!    Alas, it is only a first responder, not a repair crew. Said transformer is now officially toast and will have to be replaced.  TBO gives permission for the crew to pull their truck onto our back lot close to the pole to make it easier for repairs.  Off we go again to seek entertainment in the air conditioning...

Three hours and a half hours later, (four and a half since the outage), we return.  It looks like a SWAT team has parked in front of our house.  There are flashing lights, trailers, bright work lights, trucks and a cherry picker in the back lot.  I am excited to see all the activity, I must say!

TBO goes out to sidewalk supervise, while I remain at the house...too many critters out at night for my taste.  I am sitting on the patio hoping to catch a breeze, reading my book by flashlight, when the lights come back on.  Yippee! Back in the 21st century...only 5 hours of an outage this time.  TBO did find out that we are at the "end of the line" when it comes to service in our area. This translates into our being the last ones to be restored to power when there is a major outage. Oh, well.  Again, I thank the crew who came out in the night to get us back on the grid.  They are the unsung heroes of springtime, and summer, and fall and winter!