HARDWICK – A power outage last Monday, June 15, during the dinner hour, followed by another about 9 p.m., during prime television watching time, inconvenienced and raised concerns among Hardwick Electric Department (HED) customers.
HED General Manager Scott Johnstone explained the first outage, an emergency outage, was planned on short notice because it was discovered that a regulator at the HED substation on Hardwick Electric Drive, across from the Knights of Columbus Hall, had failed. The failure allowed higher voltages to be delivered to customers than is safe for some connected devices.
The failure was discovered following unexpected customer events, including a surge suppressor tripping power for Hardwick’s water supply pumps, said Town Manager David Upson, who indicated an electrician helped identify their issue.
The regulator, an expensive and specialty device, is not stocked by HED, which relies on the much larger Green Mountain Power (GMP) for such items that may be needed in emergencies, said Johnstone.
He said, HED’s two substations make it difficult to cost-effectively stock some replacement items so the utility relies on GMP, with its roughly 190 substations, where such items are regularly stocked.
GMP arrived with the replacement, said Johnstone, and power was shut off during the initial outage, but it was discovered that the wrong device had been sent.
Power was restored while the correct device was sent. The new regulator was installed during the later outage, which lasted longer than anticipated due to other devices needing to be replaced too, he said.
The failed regulator was operating well beyond its expected lifetime, as is much of the infrastructure in the HED distribution network, Johnstone explained.
At the June 16 HED Board of Commissions meeting, he told commissioners he understands this emergency outage came at the worst possible time of the day, but this was a decision that had to be made, and the repair needed to happen immediately.
Johnstone said that the event highlights the need to make more investment in reliability over the next several years. Those upgrades will run into a seven figure cost, upward of one million dollars, he said. The upgrades will go beyond simply replacing equipment, allowing better monitoring of the entire distribution system.
The upcoming installation of smart meters, for example, would have allowed much quicker identification of the overvoltage condition.
In a Front Porch Forum post, Johnstone said, “To prevent property damage and make the necessary repairs, HED made the difficult decision to conduct an emergency outage. Our line crew worked diligently throughout the event to diagnose the issue, complete the necessary repairs, and restore service as safely and quickly as possible.
He responded to customer concerns about a lack of effective communication regarding the outage, saying, “Over the coming month, HED will introduce a new outage notification system that customers may choose to subscribe to, allowing us to receive outage alerts and updates more quickly in the future.”
In addition, there’s other work to be done now, he said. “. . . we are committed to learning from this event and taking reasonable steps to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences in the future.”
Johnstone said, “Over the coming weeks, HED will conduct a thorough review of this event, perform additional testing of related substation equipment, and evaluate opportunities to further strengthen system reliability.”
Last week he said he had not heard back from the HED insurance company about how to handle customer issues that may have arisen from the failed regulator, but said they were collecting information from customers who may have been affected.
“If you believe this event affected electrical equipment in your home or business, please
contact Hardwick Electric Department at [email protected] so we
can review the circumstances and determine appropriate next steps,” wrote Johnstone.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
