SMECO doesn't know how to count!

[aasimmons]

smeco outages website

http://outage.smeco.coop/

 

[somd whisper]

Hey y’all. Glad to hear that for the most part everyone is doing ok. Hope you get your electric back on soon. That has got to be a pain in the hinny.

We still do not have phones here but we have electric and intent so I am cool with that.
I have to agree that SMECO does have some room for improvement but KUDOS to the guys out working all those hours and in the worst weather to get the electric back on.

Now I hear that another storm may be on it’s way? Maybe we should get a generator.
We cleared all the trees in our streets and tried to help the neighbors with the debris they had in the yard. It was a task but at least no one had to do it on their own.

I am trying to play catch up with all the posts, so if I repeat anything please excuse.

Nicole I understand what you are trying to say and I agree with you. I think Mike is just trying to say be careful….better to be safe than sorry right. I know you were not telling people to go grab a tree on a live line so don’t sweat it. Thanks for the green and I will look forward to getting together when I get back from Florida. I only came back here long enough to see if everything was ok then I am headed back for the funeral. Peace to all.

 

[somd whisper]

Reading the update from SMECO on the status of Ernesto's power outage, I am shocked that SMECO has know idea how many customers are without power. Smeco states that as of Sunday Morning * Number of customers affected in St. Mary's County: approximately 3,092.

Did they forget about the people on Flat Iron road, Draden Road and the Aberdeen subdivision??

Our Power went out on Friday at 1:00 pm. By sunday morning there were still trees in the middle of the road on flat Iron road, where you had to drive around them to get through. An I personally counted 8 trees either laying on the lines, or broke lines.

At 8:30 am Sunday I called SMECO again looking for a status and was told , Quote, " We had no idea that your area was had so much damage". "

It is now Monday morning, and we do have power! It came on during the night. But I still have two daughters without power. One by gate 2 and the other by webster field.

We were also called several times during the outage from SMECO, with a recording that stated " We indicate that you have power"

I am just very curious how SMECO can not know how many people are without power.

I thought that count was LOW too. Weird.

 

[aasimmons]

Everyone wants to be first. Someone has to be last.

 

[BS Gal]

Everyone wants to be first. Someone has to be last.

True and I really do appreciate how hard the SMECO employees work. That said, I wonder why they don't start thinking about burying some power lines, particularly in the heavily wooded subdivisions. I KNOW it would cost a bundle, but in the long run, they'd probably save $. Just a thought.

 

[Angel]

I find it funny that people do not know how to survive without electricity. We were only without power for 3 hours on Friday, but the man and I played cards and really had a good time just enjoying each other company. I was coming up with a million things I could do without the electric. I would have read a book, gotten ice to preserve my food (should the power outage in my area appear to be reaching the 8 hour mark), worked on hobbies that I generally set aside because a TV program has grabbed my interest first, and I made sure I was properly prepared (ie - food and water) before hand. Even though it was not predicted that this Tropical Storm would knock every bodies Power Out, it is only our own fault if we are ill prepared for such Power Outages. How to Deal with a Power Outage

My hat goes off to the folks who have been working their asses off to restore power.

 

[CableChick]

I thought that count was LOW too. Weird.

Really??? What was your count? How long did it take you ( and everyone else for that matter that thinks the count is too low ) to drive around Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's and find out exactly who was still without power?

Everyone seems to have a lot of biatching to do, but no one has offered up any suggestions on how they would do any better. So please do tell. Without hiring more ppl and raising our current rates.

SMECO contracts out to many tree trimming companies to keep trees/limbs off their power lines. This is done on a constant basis, not just when bad weather approaches. What else can they do to help prevent possible outages when bad weather approaches?

 

[CableChick]

True and I really do appreciate how hard the SMECO employees work. That said, I wonder why they don't start thinking about burying some power lines, particularly in the heavily wooded subdivisions. I KNOW it would cost a bundle, but in the long run, they'd probably save $. Just a thought.

UG cable deteriorates at a faster rate. Let's say it takes 1 hour to fix an aerial line ... it would take double or triple that to fix a cable that's 3 feet or deeper underground.

And considering our history with major outages, such as this, the payback model would be longer than you think. Aerial cable costs cents compared to ug cable.

Who would be willing to foot the bill? I'm not paying for your lines to be buried ug.

 

[Carla2786]

My brother works for smeco they have been currently working 16 hour days since people did not have power. they can work only so many hours in a day they need a break to! who cares if they dont have the number of power outages correct atleast their trying to get it fixed as soon as possible.

 

[boojack]

I really don't get all of this complaining. I mean, these guys work pretty damn hard under some adverse conditions to make your life a little more pleasant. I know that collectively we all pay their salaries, but the only way that happens is if the electricity is on. The company (and its employees) see no benefit and gather no satisfaction from the (miniscule) suffering that you might endure from a couple of days without power. They try hard to serve us and I'm sure most of them do their best.
We live in a suburbanish area and one of the characteristics of this type of living is that there are a gazillion miles of power lines and a ton of trees. If you can't deal with the potential consequences of those facts, move to the city.

Oh, and if they had the resources on hand to restore your power within a few hours of the storm passing, your electric bill would probably be several multiples higher than it is already.



And finally, the money that you spent on replacing your food is tax deductible as an uninsurable loss so save your receipts.

LET ME GUESS ????? YOU MUST WORK FOR SMECO !!!! PLEASE

 

[Nicole_in_somd]

True and I really do appreciate how hard the SMECO employees work. That said, I wonder why they don't start thinking about burying some power lines, particularly in the heavily wooded subdivisions. I KNOW it would cost a bundle, but in the long run, they'd probably save $. Just a thought.

I was wondering the same thing, I thought that WildeWood did and someone told me that they had a lot of outage there too.

 

[czygvtwkr]

I have said it again and again, if we would properly trim trees around here we wouldnt have this problem.

Properly triming trees doesn't mean cut it so that it is not in the power lines. It means cut it so that no matter which direction it falls it can not hit a power line.

 

[Nicole_in_somd]

Really??? What was your count? How long did it take you ( and everyone else for that matter that thinks the count is too low ) to drive around Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's and find out exactly who was still without power?

Everyone seems to have a lot of biatching to do, but no one has offered up any suggestions on how they would do any better. So please do tell. Without hiring more ppl and raising our current rates.

SMECO contracts out to many tree trimming companies to keep trees/limbs off their power lines. This is done on a constant basis, not just when bad weather approaches. What else can they do to help prevent possible outages when bad weather approaches?

First of all that is not what she said, and she did not say one word or ##### about anything for the guys out there working. I know in my zip code it seemed low also. SOMD whisper had said thanks to SMECO workers and the only thing she said was the number seemed low so back the f off.

There are only a few people in here that was doing that and so don't take it out on everyone.

 

[Nicole_in_somd]

My brother works for smeco they have been currently working 16 hour days since people did not have power. they can work only so many hours in a day they need a break to! who cares if they dont have the number of power outages correct atleast their trying to get it fixed as soon as possible.

Please tell your brother thanks so much and I hope he gets some rest soon!

 

[Angel]

LET ME GUESS ????? YOU MUST WORK FOR SMECO !!!! PLEASE

You must be one of the whiners who didn't have power for a few days?

Guess what? People lived for hundreds of years without power before it was invented.

Get A Grip. No I do not work for SMECO and I do not know anybody who does, but I do know how to appreciate that other people are working their butts off to accommodate people like you.

 

[Nicole_in_somd]

Hey y’all. Glad to hear that for the most part everyone is doing ok. Hope you get your electric back on soon. That has got to be a pain in the hinny.

We still do not have phones here but we have electric and intent so I am cool with that.
I have to agree that SMECO does have some room for improvement but KUDOS to the guys out working all those hours and in the worst weather to get the electric back on.

Now I hear that another storm may be on it’s way? Maybe we should get a generator.
We cleared all the trees in our streets and tried to help the neighbors with the debris they had in the yard. It was a task but at least no one had to do it on their own.

I am trying to play catch up with all the posts, so if I repeat anything please excuse.

Nicole I understand what you are trying to say and I agree with you. I think Mike is just trying to say be careful….better to be safe than sorry right. I know you were not telling people to go grab a tree on a live line so don’t sweat it. Thanks for the green and I will look forward to getting together when I get back from Florida. I only came back here long enough to see if everything was ok then I am headed back for the funeral. Peace to all.

So it is offical the house is dead? Hallie, I am so sorry to hear that. Have a safe trip back to FL, thanks for having my back. Darby says hello. How are the kids? I tried to call you to see if you guys were ok now I know why you did not answer. take care see you soon

 

[Nicole_in_somd]

You must be one of the whiners who didn't have power for a few days?

Guess what? People lived for hundreds of years without power before it was invented.

Get A Grip. No I do not work for SMECO and I do not know anybody who does, but I do know how to appreciate that other people are working their butts off to accommodate people like you.

 

[CableChick]

So it is offical the house is dead? Hallie, I am so sorry to hear that. Have a safe trip back to FL, thanks for having my back. Darby says hello. How are the kids? I tried to call you to see if you guys were ok now I know why you did not answer. take care see you soon

That explains everything.

 

[CMC122]

I hope you are not making fun of my two year old daughter.
Also to the person who left this

She's laughing at something you wouldn't understand

 

[DoWhat]

She's laughing at something you wouldn't understand

Please explain.