[conspire] 1999 called, and wants its backhoe returned

[mark]

> On Apr 13, 2020, at 1:23 PM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
>
> Dispatch from the neighbourhood just uphill from us (Sharon Heights -- a
> 1960s buildout where they thought it was very clever to put all the
> electrical lines underground):
>
> Robin Riddle in Sharon Heights writes:
>
> Pacific Underground Construction was using a backhoe this morning to
> start the installation of a replacement water main (12" ductile iron
> pipe) along Monte Rosa.  In front of 815 Monte Rosa they hit a PG&E
> secondary and shorted one phase to the uninsulated neutral (according to
> PG&E).  The result was that the two lines (beyond the transformer)
> coming to our house that should have been +120 and -120 became +85 and
> -155.   Electronic stuff on the 155v phase (without a surge protector)
> are very possibly damaged.  We smell burning insulation around our
> desktop computer, for example.

1. The 811 telephone number for Call Before You Dig is a pretty serious operation that accurately marks underground water, electrical, sewer, communications, and other utilities on the street or ground so this sort of incident can be avoided. It usually works very well and contractors strive to cooperate with it.
2. I hate unbalanced power. It can quickly destroy equipment.
3. I’m reminded of Rick’s posts in the past about the importance of protecting electrical power against this sort of problem. Unbalanced power is often more damaging than simply losing power. Hence, Rick offered tips on equipment that can condition the power as a measure separate from having a battery backup. I’m pretty sure his recommendations are still in the list archives.

> The MP fire department (Alameda/Valparaiso) came around and told
> everyone affected to disconnect their *main* breaker...which was very
> good advice.  (Kudos to MPFD.)
>
> Also, MP city water services people showed up.  They were useless and
> clearly not in good humor.
>
> At this time PG&E thought that the problem had been fixed and told
> residents to "contact an electrician" to confirm that they could reset
> their breakers.  They never checked the voltages they were delivering to
> houses.  (Tsk tsk to PG&E.)
>
> When alerted at about 12:30pm to the fact that the two phases were
> delivering different voltages, PG&E realized that the broken line
> damaged the local transformer.  They are looking at / removing the
> transformer now.  Anybody on this circuit will have lost power now
> because PG&E disconnected the transformer lines.  PG&E predicts they
> will have the transformer repaired/replaced by midnight, tonight.
>
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—
Mark Weisler   "Free Hong Kong”
mark at weisler-saratoga-ca.us
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