topgroove
04-22-2006, 11:32 AM
National Grid Fined
Quality of service in 2005 results in penalty. Credit to customers is due in July.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
By Tim Knauss
Staff writer
National Grid's power failures in 2005 affected too many customers, and the utility was too slow getting the lights back on, based on standards set by state regulators in 2001.
As a penalty, National Grid will refund $8.8 million to customers in July. Each customer will receive a bill credit of about $5.50.
Utility officials said Friday that the results reflect the deterioration of their aging network of poles and wires. The company plans $1.2 billion in improvements over the next five years.
Although National Grid passed nine of 11 state-mandated tests of service quality during 2005, it failed two: the number of customers affected by power failures, and the average duration of power failures.
"We're not satisfied, and we do hear from our customers that they're not as satisfied as they used to be with our reliability performance," said William Edwards, president of New York distribution for National Grid. "We don't take lightly missing those two particular targets."
According to reports National Grid filed recently with the state Public Service Commission, equipment failures caused the highest number of power failures, affecting more than 550,000 customers in 2005. Not counting major storms, which regulators omit when evaluating system reliability, equipment failures accounted for about one-third of the time customers spent in the dark.
National Grid last year boosted its capital spending on the network to $235 million per year, up 68 percent from the $140 million per year planned in its 10-year rate agreement.
But money alone won't solve the problem, said David Falletta, president of Local 97 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents 3,500 employees at National Grid
With only about 700 line workers on staff - 50 fewer than in 2002 and about half the number the utility had during the early 1980s - National Grid has too few workers to respond to power failures, Falletta said. Although the company also uses outside contractors, they are not as adept as employees at responding to problems, Falletta said. On the other hand, Falletta acknowledged that National Grid line workers are getting older, which makes them less inclined to accept overtime work during power failures.
"We're not as hungry as we once were," he said. "When you were 30, you got out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and came to work. When you're 52 or 53, and you're mortgage is paid off, you're not coming in."
National Grid officials say manpower is not an issue in system reliability.
Quality of service in 2005 results in penalty. Credit to customers is due in July.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
By Tim Knauss
Staff writer
National Grid's power failures in 2005 affected too many customers, and the utility was too slow getting the lights back on, based on standards set by state regulators in 2001.
As a penalty, National Grid will refund $8.8 million to customers in July. Each customer will receive a bill credit of about $5.50.
Utility officials said Friday that the results reflect the deterioration of their aging network of poles and wires. The company plans $1.2 billion in improvements over the next five years.
Although National Grid passed nine of 11 state-mandated tests of service quality during 2005, it failed two: the number of customers affected by power failures, and the average duration of power failures.
"We're not satisfied, and we do hear from our customers that they're not as satisfied as they used to be with our reliability performance," said William Edwards, president of New York distribution for National Grid. "We don't take lightly missing those two particular targets."
According to reports National Grid filed recently with the state Public Service Commission, equipment failures caused the highest number of power failures, affecting more than 550,000 customers in 2005. Not counting major storms, which regulators omit when evaluating system reliability, equipment failures accounted for about one-third of the time customers spent in the dark.
National Grid last year boosted its capital spending on the network to $235 million per year, up 68 percent from the $140 million per year planned in its 10-year rate agreement.
But money alone won't solve the problem, said David Falletta, president of Local 97 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents 3,500 employees at National Grid
With only about 700 line workers on staff - 50 fewer than in 2002 and about half the number the utility had during the early 1980s - National Grid has too few workers to respond to power failures, Falletta said. Although the company also uses outside contractors, they are not as adept as employees at responding to problems, Falletta said. On the other hand, Falletta acknowledged that National Grid line workers are getting older, which makes them less inclined to accept overtime work during power failures.
"We're not as hungry as we once were," he said. "When you were 30, you got out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and came to work. When you're 52 or 53, and you're mortgage is paid off, you're not coming in."
National Grid officials say manpower is not an issue in system reliability.