Discussion»Questions»Current Events and News» If a power plant has an explosion & all the businesses & residents, elderly/pets are w/out water/food, ac, who is responsible for the bill?
I'm not positive but I think the electric company has no liability. We had a power surge in a transformer and it cause lots of damage in our condo building. I lost several electronic items. I don't remember the exact reasoning, but basically we could not be compensated from the electric company. We could make a claim against our own insurance.
That was what I was afraid of. Last night at about quarter after 11, Don and I were sitting at our kitchen table. I was here, as I recall and Don was ... don't hold your breath, working on the steel for the house he is building. A low-key normal Saturday night at Merlin's house. My phone rings and it's my friend/boss Cindy. The call drops. I tried calling her back and it didn't go through. About an hour passed and she called again. This call was broken-up. All I got out of it was, "Pitch black, alone, scared, Maxx, Agoura." I threw on a pair of shorts and sandals, gave Don a quick kiss good-bye and started to drive over to her house. It's only about 6 miles away. When I got 1/2 there the entire city went black. On a warm, Saturday, summer night, this had rowdy-chaos written all over it. Indeed, the remaining 3 miles were a nightmare. None of the traffic lights worked. Most of us treated all intersections as a 4-way stop. There were the kids who didn't and almost hit me, twice. But, I got there none-the-less. She has two elderly dogs who need the a/c, to be fed at a certain time, and medication that has to be heated, etc. Her two businesses also require refrigeration and/or a constant temperature. All were out of power. The moral of this long and tedious story is we sat in her backyard and contemplated what was to become of her product and if it was by any means damaged would she be compensated for her merchandise by the power company. It certainly wasn't her fault. There was an explosion at the plant. Anyway, it was still dark and dismal when I left last night and came home and posted this. Her power did finally come back on at 8 this morning. We'll see how it all turned out. I'm going up to check. But, I had to ask. I had a feeling that was going to be the answer. Thank you so much Jane for taking the time to share your experience. It is similar to ours. I truly appreciate it. Good or bad, I'll let you know how it unfolds. Have a great Sunday. I see you just went offline. But, you'll see this on your return. See ya soon! Thanks Jane :) Love, Merlin
This post was edited by Merlin at July 9, 2017 6:35 PM MDT
If it's anything like the local power company where I live, a rate-hike is immediately instituted by the power company so that the customers can pay the multi-million dollar expense of a wildfire that was started by its faulty power lines in a rural area. Homes and businesses burned to the ground, people were displaced, etc. The ensuing investigation found indisputable evidence that the power company had been notified by state inspectors months before the fire that their electric lines potentially would start a conflagration, deadlines for fixing them came and went with no action, resulting in both fines and penalties being assessed. The power company tried a sneaky end-run by increasing rates to customers, but they were found out by watchdog groups that alerted both state regulators and the media. Lawsuits were the next step, but before they were resolved, the fire-danger season arrived. Skipping to the aftermath of the fires, which by law also required the power company to pay losses and damages, the rate-hike I mentioned in the first paragraph was put into place. The customers are still fighting it in court.
:(
This post was edited by Randy D at July 11, 2017 6:01 AM MDT
Sorry, but you (or your boss) is up the proverbial estuary without a means of locomotion.
Generally speaking utility providers have no obligation to guarantee uninterrupted service or to compensate their users for losses in the event of such service interruption. On-site back-up is about the only option for AC power, gas, water and sewage. In the case of electrical service failure that would be a well maintained, appropriately-sized stand-by genset (with an automatic load transfer switch). Or, alternately, you can have the electrical service entrance set up to accommodate the easy connection of a rental genset.
Jane S 