McHenry County Blog

Com Ed had a power failure last night right in front of our Lakewood home.

My son was looking out the front window and saw two explosions.

He said looked like fireworks and startled him.

After each one, the power went out, then came back on.

There was no wind and no rain.

No car hit a pole.

Simple failure of a couple of brackets, it appears.

I immediately call Commonwealth Edison and informed them.

It took about a half an hour for a truck to show up.

Even with the so-called Smart Grid Com Ed has succeeded in getting most local legislators to pass rate hikes to finance, the notice of the outage would not have brought the repair truck appreciably faster.

Although the cause of the damage was obvious–two brackets had collapsed from the pole, which is about fifty feet high–onto the wires causing them to short out, the truck went up and down the street looking at the rest of the line along Lake Avenue.

As I was beginning this story shortly after nine last night, the lights and the computer went dark again.

Over five hours later, our bedroom lights went on waking us about 2:15 AM.

And here’s what the repair to the electric system looked like this morning:

This section of Com Ed’s grid was installed about ten years ago. The part of Broadway cost a man his life.

Awaiting a call from Com Ed to answer my questions as to how many were affected and what the cause of the problem was.

On the heels of Grafton Township Supervisor candidate Marty Waitzman’s comments about electrical needs in the Assessor’s Office comes this response from Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore in this memo to Assessor Bill Ottley:

Memo: It would be best if people had all of the facts before advocating for the expenditure of tax dollars. I am hopeful to receive a response to the letter which I gave the Assessor soon. An additional copy is being provided to Assessor Ottley today for his response.

Linda Moore, Grafton Township Supervisor

8/17/2012

RE: Electrical Service Update and Electrical Related Losses in Town Hall

Dear Bill,

I would like to accommodate your desires, but I have some problems with your request. I have specified them in this letter. You have provided the following information:

To Do:

7 – 20 amp dedicated circuits
Upgrade – 120/240 single phase panel from 20 circuits to 40 circuit panel

Plus permit fees, which are yet unknown. The owner will be responsible for.

Surge suppressor for new panel.

Total Job:

$3,500, 50% down for cost of materials up front.

Submitted by:
Brian Johnson

Please read this letter and get back to me to see if there is some way that we can reach an agreement and satisfy these requirements. As promised, I have taken the board’s action under advisement on the following agenda item:

“B. Discussion and potential action on possible solution for electrical problems in the Assessor’s Office”

DEFICIT BUDGET

Currently, Grafton Township has a deficit budget and an obligation to the Road District to pay $300,000 plus rent. Any funds that are not spent in the Office of Assessment budget can be utilized to relieve the deficit and the obligations of the township. It would be prudent to determine if an electrical upgrade is an effective and least cost method to resolve the issues that have caused you to request this work to be done.

INSURANCE COVERAGE

For insurance purposes, I am requesting a list of the electronic equipment and software that has been damaged. You gave an informal estimate value of $2,000 at the July Board meeting. No insurance claim has been filed. We may have coverage for this type of loss which would need to be submitted in a timely manner.

DOCUMENTATION NEEDED

The documentation that you provided to me at the August board meeting did not include many important pieces of information. Because the supervisor is the only official who is bonded, I am requesting the following documentation.

TOIRMA REQUIREMENT FOR TOWNSHIP CONTRACTORS

1.Certificate of insurance for no less than $1,000,000.00.

2.Certification of workman’s compensation coverage.

VILLAGE OF HUNTLEY PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

3.Proof of contractor’s required registration with Huntley, currently Huntley has 61 electricians that are registered. A copy of the list will be provided to you.

4.Copy of documentation required by Huntley to acquire permit, including a floor plan showing where the additional circuits and electric panel will be located, description of the work to be covered by the permit, and the valuation of the proposed work.

5.Copy of contractor’s receipt for payment of permit fee to Village of Huntley.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

6.A letter from contractor agreeing to be in compliance with (60 ILCS 1/85-45)
Sec. 85-45. Pecuniary interest in contracts, stating the total cost of the project will be less than $20,000, agreeing to pay prevailing wage and that all work and moneys received will not violate the Gift Ban Law (cited below).

7.Vendor’s W-9 including business type, sole proprietor, partnership or corporation.

8.Detailed proposal from the contractor on the company’s letterhead including the timeline and the total cost for this project with a business telephone number, fax number, email address, business location and mailing address.

9.Letter from you with the township code citation that allows for a township to pay funds in advance of work or services received.

10.Adopted board minutes showing approval for an Electrical Upgrade Contract.

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS NEEDED

11.The contractor’s references.

12.Proof of due diligence showing multiple bids from electricians for the same project specifications.

13.A pre-inspection report from the Village of Huntley.

I would be happy to meet with you to address any of your concerns.
Sincerely,

Linda Moore, Grafton Township Supervisor

Supplemental Information (See here.)

• State Law Citations
• list of registered electricians in the Village of Huntley
• Village of Huntley Code and Enforcement Requirements

A press release from Grafton Township Supervisor candidate Marty Waitzman:

Marty Waitzman – Position Statement on Grafton Township Building

ALGONQUIN, IL – I have had many conversations with residents and news reporters who wanted to know whether or not I believe there is a need in Grafton Township for the acquisition or construction of a new Township Building.

I will not criticize, nor applaud, the opinions of those individuals who were involved in the past controversy surrounding the proposed Township Building.

Finger- pointing, mudslinging, and polarization need to stop.

I am committed to running a positive campaign, so I will leave the past where it belongs—in the past.

To quote the press release which announced my candidacy, I stated in pertinent part,

“Marty’s objective is to build a Grafton Township government that will work hard, smart, and efficiently for the community.

“Marty is a fiscal conservative who knows how to do more with less, and how to work collaboratively and respectfully with both community members and government officials and employees.”

I wish to clearly state my position on the acquisition or construction of a new Township Building.

Consistent with the objective quoted in the previous paragraph, I believe that with today’s disastrous economic conditions and the current suffering endured by Grafton Township’s citizens, the acquisition or construction of a new Township Building today would be fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary.

Accordingly, I do not support or advocate such an undertaking.

I believe that township activities can be accomplished with some minor improvements and updates to the present Township facility. These can be done over time and as funds are available.

By way of illustration, it has been publically disclosed that the Assessor’s office is currently operating with an electrical system that is dangerously inadequate.

The potential loss of real estate data due to an electrical calamity is very real.

The horrific impact on property owners in the Township and on all of McHenry County would be enormous.

The costs and time that would be necessary to rebuild the Assessor’s data base would undoubtedly be gigantic.

I understand the electrical inadequacies can be fixed for under $4,000.

That is the type of necessary, responsible, and reasonably priced improvement and update that I not only support, but highly recommend.

For more information, please contact Marty Waitzman at (847) 450-4950, marty@waitzman2013.com, or visit www.waitzman2013.com.

= = = = =

Waitzman is running against incumbent Linda Moore and fellow challenger Pam Fender.

A response from Moore concerning the electrical needs portion of the press release above can be found here.

Right near the north end of the Virginia Street TIF District (you know the place, just look for the two $16,000 stone monuments) in front of the Crystal Lake Motel, high winds have snapped an electric line maintained by Commonwealth Edison.

In this case, it was not any of those nasty trees within 20 feet of a power line that “Chainsaw Jack” Franks wants to have cut down.

In fact, there were no trees near the line break.

The following notice was sent out by the Crystal Lake Police at 4:43 PM:

Temp Road Closure, All lanes Route 14 from Northshore Dr to Dole Ave are closed and being re-routed, down power lines

Police and fire equipment were there when I arrived.

But there were no Com Ed repair trucks when I left to write this article at about 5.

No doubt traffic reports will tell of the big jam on Route 14 in Crystal Lake.

Got this from the Crystal Lake Police:

“A power outage has occurred in the area of Dartmoor and McHenry due to downed trees.

“Comed is on scene working to address the problem as we speak. They estimate power restoration at approximately 10:00am.”

One might observe that there is no wind.

And ComEd found out about the outage without the so-called “smart meters” for which we will all start paying $3 more a month in January.

Voting for the ComEd rate increase bill were Pam Althoff (Senate Roll Call), Mike Tryon and so-called “populist” Jack Franks (House Roll Call).

Relevant Tweets:

If only “Chainsaw Jack” Franks had passed his bill to allow Com Ed to chop down every tree within 20 feet of an electric line.

Who could have known that the Chicago Tribune would take on “Chainsaw Jack” Franks and use “Illinois Chain Saw Massacre” in it’s editorial sub-headline?

But there it was.

A whole editorial aimed at the overreach, no, that’s too mild a word for an editorial that uses the words “chop, chop, chop” to describe the Chainsaw Massacrer from Marengo.

“To his credit, State Rep. Jack Franks, the bill’s sponsor, has pulled back his measure for refinement,” the editorial points out.

“Pulled back?”

Franks stirred environmentalists and those who just like to walk along wooded streets to white hot anger.

The McHenry County Conservation District sent a letter.

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County sent out a blast email.

Think maybe Franks’ office got enough emails to make him realized he had stepped into the Briar Patch?

Hey, a chainsaw could fix that problem, too, right?

The editorial bemoans the vague language in the bill which will allow Com Ed and Ameren to “butcher” some trees and treat others kindly depending on a utility’s “whim” and the “influence of those directly affected.”

See comment under this article of Franks’ throwing his weight around with Com Ed tree trimmers:

Jack Franks Shows Tree Killer Side

“Public relations’ hornets’ next” is used by the Tribune to describe what would happen if the bill passed and wooded suburban streets came under Franks’ chainsaw massacre.

Franks’ (House Bill 3884) will allow clear cutting within 20 fee of a power line, making “thousands of trees into live bait for the chain saw crews.”

No replacements necessary.

The editorial mocks Franks’ attempt to define what trees could be planted under electric power lines as those which would not grow more that 25 feet tall.

“More sawdust,” the editorial writer concludes.

The utility would have to consult the 1,300-page “Manual of Woody Landscape Plants” to figure out if the tree might grow more than 25 feet. To no one’s surprise, the maximum heights vary, depending on local conditions.

Lots of look – alike trees out there, too.

Will an arborist be assigned to every tree trimming crew?

And the new labeling requirement in “Chainsaw Franks’” bill?

A “do not plant under power lines” tag would have to be attached to every tree that might grow more than 25 feet.

Another example of what the Democratic Party is known as the Party of Regulation.

The editorial suggests that chainsaws carry the warning, “Do not apply moving blades to operator’s neck.”

“If Franks needs to build a new chopping block for Illinois trees, we hope a subsequent draft better balances the interests of utilities and nature-lovers,” the editorial concludes.

Plus asking utilities to bury more lines:

“Chain saws down. Shovels Up. Dig.”

= = = = =
Allan Showalter of “Heck of a Guy” blog created the mock movie poster.

Looking out the bedroom window this morning, I saw footprints in the snow on the driveway.

They went to the back of the house all the way to the electric meter.

Besides the primary goal of increasing the cost of delivering electricity to its customers, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren (the Southern Illinois power company) are going to use some of the extra money to attach a meter that will do away with meter readers…at least the ones that make footprints on snowy days.

The other reminder was in a Chicago Tribune editorial cartoon.

It had the White House, Washington Capitol and a “state capitol” that looks suspiciously like the one in Springfield with money coming out of every door and window.

You know why that reminded me of the ComEd/Ameren rate hike bill, right?

If not, perhaps you should take a look at the article I wrote about contributions to Illinois’ State Senators who voted for the bill:

2011 Campaign Contributions from Those Interested in Allowing Com Ed & Ameren to Hike Electric Rates without ICC Approval

I had dinner Sunday with a State Representative and other politicos present, as well as a couple of normal people.

There was a vigorous discussion between me and the outspoken defender of the “Smart Grid” bill.

Believe it or not, I don’t think I started it.

It was someone discussing how intrusive the Smart Grid meters could be, how if you were using more electricity than some government regulator might rule “necessary” that ComEd could use the new meter to cut off your electricity.

It was after this civil liberties criticism of the legislation and its defense by the bill’s supporter that I advanced my opinion.

I explained how Samuel Insull’s secretary discovered I was a state legislator on a train ride to Springfield. He filled me in on why Insull created the Illinois Commerce Commission.

The reason was simple.

It was easier to bribe a majority of the small ICC than a majority of the Illinois General Assembly.

Now, it seems to me, history has come full circle.

Power companies cannot influence the Commerce Commission the way they used to.

So, it’s back to the Illinois House and Senate.

And influence is not peddled by putting cash into legislators’ hands anymore.

It’s done with campaign contributions.

And, on the substance of the debate, how ridiculous, not to mention illogical is is for those maintaining the electric power grid to complain that they need higher rates to repaid what they have allowed to fall into disrepair.

These folks have had state-sanctioned monopolies since Samuel Insull’s time.

In return for the monopoly power, wouldn’t you think they had the absolute responsibility to deliver electricity when and where it is needed?

And as for ComEd getting faster notice when power goes out, whenever I call–and we have power coming from the east and the west–I have no problem making a report.

The Campaign for Political Reform has a spreadsheet that shows how much each state legislator has taken from companies like Commonwealth Edison, Ameren and other entities which it thinks has a stake in the so-called “Smart Grid” electricity rate hike bill.

It’s not perfect. I found one State Senator who got a contribution from ComEd PAC that wasn’t on it, but it’s the best one-source document out there.

The donations shown are for this calenday year through October 18th. The Com Ed/Ameren electric rate hike veto override of Senate Bill 1652 occurred on October 19th, so there is some possibility additional, last minute contributions were made.

Below you see the contributions from 2011 for the 39 State senators who voted to override Governor Pat Quinn’s veto of Senate Bill 1652:

• Senate Democratic Victory Fund – $89,250
• Republican State Campaign Committee – $42,650

The Democratic Party Senate campaign fund is controlled by Senate President John Cullerton.

The Republican Party Senate campaign fund is run by Minority Leader Christine Radogno.

In descending order, here’s what each of the 39 State Senators who voted to raise your electric rates got in contributions from Commonwealth Edison, Ameren, plus other companies and executives thereof which the Committee on Political Reform believes had an interest in the bill’s passage:

• 

  Mike Jacobs, sponsor of Senate Bill 1652

  Christine Radogno – $38,000

• Kirk Dillard – $19,000
• Mike Jacobs – $16,750
• Dale Richter – $13,930
• Antonio Munoz – $13,850
• Don Harmon – $11,500
• Toi Hutchinson – $11,000
• James Meeks – $11,000
• Bill Brady – $9,500
• Annezette Collins – $8,250
• A. J. Wilhemi – $7,700
• Mattie Hunter – $7,000
• Carole Pankau – $6,350
• John Millner – $6,050
• Donne Trotter – $6,000
• John Jones – $5,750
• Kimberly Lightford – $5,500
• William Haine – $5.450
• Terry Link – $5,000
  

  GOP Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno

• Michael Noland – $4,750
• Matt Murphy – $4,250
• Pam Althoff – $4,000
• David Leuchtefeld – $3,358
• Kwame Raoul – $2,500
• Sue Rezen – $2,000
• Maggie Crotty – $1,500
• John Cullerton – $1,500
• Linda Holmes – $1,250
• Iris Martinez – $1,250
• Emil Jones, III – $1,000
• William Delgado – $1,000
• David Koehler – $750
• Martin Sandoval – $500
• Thomas Johnson – 0
• Steven Landek – 0
• Ron Sandack – 0

A letter dated Wednesday, August 3, 2011, to the Crystal Lake City Council from Paul Greenlee, who lives on Bennington Drive, expresses concerns Commonwealth Edison service failures in his neighborhood:

Mayor Shepley and Members of the City Council:

When I arrived home from work yesterday, I found our home had lost power.

Based on the time my family left home for back to school shopping and my return, the power had been off some time between 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

So apparently there had been a power failure on a very hot and uncomfortable day before peak power usage had been reached.

A similar incident occurred on Saturday, July 30, sometime between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Com Ed line in McHenry County with a problem.

It was another instance in which on another almost painful weather day there was a power failure.

This time it occurred on a weekend day which is not a peak power usage day. I am again grateful we weren’t home for the inconvenience as well.

I don’t want to complain about something that is an inconvenience, as people often gripe about minor issues.

However, for what we pay in utility costs and taxes, reliable power supplies should not be an issue especially in less than peak usage periods.

Com Ed dispatched a number of trucks to repair this fallen tree problem on Lake Avenue near the Crystal Lake-Lakewood line.

Were these issues that came from brown-outs, planned or otherwise?

If they were, I don’t think the residents of our area got that memo.

Crystal Lake and McHenry County were especially devastated during the storms of early and mid-July.

Commonwealth Edison, in my opinion, took their sweet time in making repairs (even realizing the enormity of the situation, they were slow in responding and their communication was horrific and only added to the frustration suffered by many).

With subsequent power failures even after those repairs from the big storm, apparently the repairs were not of a quality nature.

That sets the stage for unnecessary future problems.

And Com Ed has NEVER been a very forthcoming utility when it comes to providing information.

A Com Ed lineman fixes a problem on Lake Avenue in Lakewood.

I urge you to haul Com Ed representatives before the City Council and hold them accountable for the poor service.

It’s not just a matter of frustration from the big storm, although their poor communication should be addressed so they don’t fail the public again.

It is the apparent ongoing occurrences of power failures that should be acted upon now so there isn’t a greater consequence to an individual or a community later.

Personally, I think they should have to face the public in an open forum.

However, I trust that if you and the members of the Council compel Com Ed (and not just some P.R. flak) to appear and address these issues, we might well see a change in their behavior.

I don’t like to use utilities or big business as scapegoats for any problem.

I work in property and casualty insurance, an industry often vilified and sometimes even correctly.

Utilities, just like elected officials and public employees, have a responsibility to deliver services and be accountable for their actions and their failures in fulfilling their obligations.

I hope you address this issue in a way to protect the community in the future.

Paul Greenlee

Maybe this other email from a reader explains more than Com Ed would like people to know. The author is an engineer:

The essence of the explanation of the lead person (my presumption) was that CoEd found it less expensive to repair problem equipment rather than replacing it.

Of course, this is understandable from a surface analysis but is only viable when you have a captive customer base.

The cost to the customer is very difficult to determine but reasoning of that type would be unacceptable in a competitive market.

Obviously, many of the customers would switch to a competitive service.

My question to the service person was initiated because we had an excessive number of outages in comparison to another group of houses on our street. They would have service and our group would be in the dark.

Articles of potential interest:

“Com Ed’s Infrastructure and the Last Com Ed Scam” (The rate hike bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly this year and the deregulation bill of the late 1990′s)

“Fire and Brimstone” (August, 2010, high power line failure next to Best Buy in Crystal Lake.)

“McCullom Lake Is Last in Com Ed Reliability” (list of all towns in McHenry County in descending order of the quality of Com Ed service, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.)

McHenry County making the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times twice in one week.

That’s probably a record since the tragic school bus-Metra train collision in Fox River Grove in the mid-1990′s.

First we are treated to the Thursday revelation of Congressman Joe Walsh’s child support problems.

And, today, we learn that McCullom Lake has the worst Com Ed electric service on storm days in the entire Chicago Metropolitan area.

I’ve extracted the data from the almost full-page chart. It shows “the total number of each town’s outage minutes divided by the population.”

Reporters Art Golab and Kim Janssen say this is “the first to compare towns of different sizes on a per-person basis.”

This, I would note as a former state legislator is the kind of information that the Illinois Commerce Commission should regularly report so members of the General Assembly can hold the regulators’ feet to the fire when such variation exists concerning the reliability of service.

Here are the numbers in McHenry County, from worst to best:

• McCullom Lake – 263.0
• Barrington Hills – 64.1
• Union – 57.2
• Port Barrington – 37.0
• Trout Valley – 33.1
• Lakemoor – 26.7
• Fox Lake 24.7
• Algonquin 24.3
• Lakewood – 23.5
• Oakwood Hills – 22.3
• Woodstock – 20.0
• Bull Valley – 17.4
• Crystal Lake – 16.6
• Johnsburg – 16.1
• Fox River Grove – 15.4
• Harvard – 14-8
• Chemung – 14.0
• Spring Grove – 12.7
• Prairie Grove – 10.5
• Cary – 9.3
• Hebron – 7.2
• Huntley – 7.1
• Lake in the Hills – 5.9
• Richmond – 5.7
• Marengo – 5.6
• Wonder Lake – 5.5
• Island Lake – 2.6

You can find all the numbers here.

The article will undoubted be used by opponents to electric supplers Com Ed and Ameren, who are seeking rate hikes to finance something they call a “smart gird.”

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office claims that the legislation “will guarantee it huge profits while weakening reliability standards for years to come,” the article says.

The following seems to summarize the dispute:

“Under the current legislation, ComEd is required to prove its reliability performance to regulators before winning rate hikes, whereas under the bill the balance of power would shift so that regulators seeking to prevent a price hike would have to show that ComEd has failed to meet reliability standards, according to Illinois Commerce Commission executive director Tim Anderson.

“Crucially, ComEd would not be judged on its performance on the worst nine storm days each year.

“ComEd says that’s necessary to allow a fair year-to-year analysis that excludes extreme weather events beyond its control, but critics say it will allow ComEd to dodge improvements to its storm preparedness and response.

“The utility said the new performance standard ‘is designed to accurately measure ComEd’s day-to-day reliability performance; it is not designed to measure how lucky we are in avoiding severe weather.’”