Welch Island Power
 

Well, what I was worried about seems to be happening. Someone I know spoke to the Eversource crew coming back from Welch after assessing the storm damage. It looks like things are pretty bad out there and they will NOT be repairing till spring!

Maybe if enough islanders call and complain they will rethink it. I will be calling today.

Dan

That is absolutely ridiculous!!! For a huge energy company to leave an area, albeit an island without power for 5+ months is completely unacceptable. Its not like they have to worry about ice in, they still have a minimum of 8-10 weeks before that happens. :(

Evesource, according to a contractor my brother spoke to yesterday, is an extremely, inept outfit. The contractor has reported crews and trucks parked while there were many problems in a particular area. He called the dispatch office and all they said was “they have their assignments”
Meanwhile my brother has been without power for a week at his cabin now and the only problem is a visible fuse that is blown on his road (Grafton NH).
While my brother was working clearing a brook along his road (so it wouldn’t back up and wash out the road) he spoke to theee different eversource people (inspectors) that came up the road and saw the blown fuse but wouldn’t touch it.
They even said they would have a crew come up, but he never saw a soul and finally gave up and went back to Mass.
I feel for you at Welch, Dan...good luck with them.

Not sure if this is helpful but...

We were on Welch during the storm on Sunday. On Monday morning we walked the North shore line from North Ledges down to around Abare's and back along the power line. I didn't see any damaged houses along the stretch we walked. The only issue I saw along the power line was 1 small diameter tree leaning on the top power cable at pole #20 but it did not look damaged (there is a steel guy cable on top). I notified Eversource of this through the web page. There were some down trees in the woods but mostly already dead stuff that needed to be pushed over. I'm sure (unfortunately) the East side of the island took the brunt of the storm.

Oddly enough, I was able to get internet access (running my generator) which would indicate the phone cable on the poles is still intact and connected to the mainland. If any poles or cables were down I would have expected the phone lines to be dead as well.

Mark

We called.

Power feed on Welch splits into two circuits where it comes ashore on the west side. So, either north or south can lose power and the other side has no loss of power.

NH Elec Coop says they plan to be out hitting the islands in Meredith and Moultonborough Sat 11/4 to restore power.

Meredith
Substantially Restored Thursday. Friday Afternoon 11/3. Islands Saturday 11/4

Moultonborough
Substantially Thursday 11/2; Remainder Friday Night 11/3
Islands Saturday 11/4


Eversource appears to be run by a bunch of donkeys and I'd be livid if I were on Welch in fact I would refuse to pay my bill until spring if that is how long they take to restore power.

Islands Power
 

We wonder if NHEC will come out to Bear as they say.

Welch Update
 

Just came back from Welch and the while my side (west) of the island was spared, the south really took a hit and is a mess with a lot of trees, powerlines, and transformers down.

The good news is enough Welch islanders must of called and complained as the Eversource crews did in fact go back out there and were working on the lines. They have a LOT of work to do so I doubt power will be restored today or tomorrow for that matter.

I’ll update when power is back on.

Dan

Thank you button pushed twice.

Video from south Welch Island provided by neighbors on the island. This starts facing south to Lake Shore Park, turns west and ends at the power line near the Bear's Trail.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wUXCSbIYKSE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/wUXCSbIYKSE

*** UPDATE ***

The power has been restored to our house on Welch Island (North side).
I just noticed that my security cameras are back online. Hoping the East side is fixed too.

Good job Eversource!

Mark

Yes power was restored today at 3:00 pm. 17 men from Eversource worked for the past three days to get the power back up. It was a mess!!

Just glad it’s back up! Thanks Eversource!

Dan

I hope your brother realizes that just because a lineman is not actively engaged in restoring power does not mean that they are slacking off.

They are working pretty much 24/7 and get VERY LITTLE down time. VERY LITTLE. Those that come from other states do not get an 8 hour rest period.

They work their ASSES OFF. They get breaks and lunches just like you and I, but they do not work an 8-10 hour shift. They work 16-18+ shifts. They are not on a 5 day work week like most people. They work until the work is done or they are called to return to their home office. The work is dangerous and the weather is often time miserable. It takes a special type of person to endure such conditions to help those that depend on electricity.

So sorry that your brother had to leave his cabin and return to his main home in Massachusetts, with everyday basic necessities, because those that have been working 18+ hours did not meet his needs in the manner that he expected.

BTW

A big SHOUT OUT to the lineman from all over the NE that left their families to help restore power to those of us in NH

SORRY to have pissed in your Wheaties but I was just relaying what A CONTRACTOR FOR EVERSOURCE told my brother as they were conversing.
Cheer on!

On Welch, as with most islands, it is all done the old fashion way without bucket trucks. Lots of skill and stamina.

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I noticed www.topnotchtreenh.com had about five big aerial bucket trucks parked at the Cattle Landing p-lot yesterday afternoon, Saturday, with no employees present, so probably they were all boated out to an island for tree work.

Bear Power
 

The Bear Cam is back up. No way to tell if west Bear across from Cattle is restored.

Actually Slick, this time damage was so bad they barged out heavy equipment including a bucket!

I have to give them credit for how quickly they made the repairs!

Dan

Good to know they'll bring out the heavy equipment if it gets really bad. Currently sitting atop the highest mountain in Georgia waiting for the fog to clear

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To my knowledge, Ishoot308, Slickcraft an Welch-time are all on the north Welch power circuit. Anybody on the south circuit to confirm power is on?
We had an instance several years ago where power came to part of the south circuit, but not all. PSNH sent out a 2 man crew with an extension pole. They reset a breaker on a pole transformer, and we were back on. Didn't seem to affect others way down the line, but we didn't know who was home to report.

TV news this am (11/5) reported that Eversource says 100% of customers are receiving service. If my main breaker is tripped to shut off for the winter, can they tell? Or do they just go by reports from customers?

I'm pretty sure Eversource can detect outages to individual houses that are equipped with new "smart meters". These are the meters with the digital display. I noticed Eversource installed one at our house last spring. My guess is the whole island has them now. The meters communicate back to the mothership via cell phone signals so the meters don't have to be read manually by a person on foot (really handy for an island). If a meter fails to send a signal the power company knows there's an outage at a specific location. I imagine they have devices mounted on poles as well to verify entire circuit status.

And just to reiterate, many thanks to the people who repair this stuff after a storm. I have huge respect for these people. I can't imagine working in the woods near lethal voltages in the rain while climbing ladders with chain-saws and other dangerous activities without quick access to medical help. I fully expected the island electric service repairs to be a lower priority than on the mainland after a major storm like we had. I get it. We're a bunch of summer cottages on an island, mostly closed for the winter. It's the reason I have a generator.

So maybe after all the smoke has cleared, a phone call to Eversource might be in order to thank the repair crews.
Mark

Power is back at my place on Little Bear Island.

Good info. Thank you. And yes, thank you to the line crews.