reporter doing story on FPL

[DavidFleshler]

My name is David Fleshler, and I'm a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. We're doing an article on FPL's reliability record - whether the company has invested enough in the system, whether it's hired enough linemen, whether it relies too much on less-experienced contractor workers, why certain areas suffer repeated outages etc etc. I'm talking with the PSC, FPL, outside experts, union officials. Does anyone on the forum have any ideas, opinions, suggestions? My email is dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com.

[CenterPointEX]

.....David Flesher... Have you ever heard of Deregulation? Before deregualtion Utilities did their work... then went to the Public Utilities Commission... They reported what it cost to do bussiness... then asked for a percentage above that to return to share holders... If they did a good job and the public was happy they got what they asked for... if not they got a little less... Under this system a reliable electrical infrastructure was built and maintained. To keep the public happy in more cases than not, there was a little overkill... Most Utilities had a few more men and trucks than they needed on a daily basis...But under that system there was never a lack of maintenance ... Enter deregulation... Now a corperate raider comes into a fat Utility sporting a Cadilac system... Guys with names like Perot N Buffet... What ya do is buy the Utility... get rid of half the employees and half the equipment... cease maintenance operations for five to seven years...and keep pulling in the same money as before... You can get away with it for about five to seven years before the public starts to notice(i.e. longer outtage times etc.) at which point you are sitting on a big lump of cash or stock value as it were... You know whats fixin to happen so ya get off your stock while the getting is good... Those left holding the bag are the share holders, public, and the government... cause no matter who broke it, at the end of the day it has to be fixed...with federal money...

.....One thing that throws a little twist in that is if during that time a big blow comes in... the Company gets to dip into its self Insurance fund to fix it and string the timeline out a little more foreward because they get to take care of a maint. problem they were neglecting with the Insurance money... One of the maintenance shortcuts is not changeing out rotten poles... the poles on either side of the rotten one will hold it up... Until a storm blows in that is, and then rotten pole goes down and it takes down several poles on either side of it, something that would not have happened had the problem been taken care of beforehand...

....California was the first to deregulate... you see the result... They say California is ten years behind in maintanence... They can not keep enough lineman out there even at the wages they are paying... There is big talk in California about reregulating the industry there... But even if they got staffed up, it's still gonna take a long time and Californians are gonna suffer til it gets fixed... Across the country Utilities are in various stages of following the California model and will end up in the same place...

.......I worked twenty years for HL&P\Reliant\CenterPoint in Houston... When they launched into deregulation ,they got rid of a bunch of their long term hands, the ones that would cut cost the most because of the expense of their benifits... They got rid of experience in favor of cheaper labor... They ceased maintenance operations...They moved tree trimming from a three year rotation to a five year rotation... N that's just the tip of the iceberg... The have begun to contract out large portions of their operations... following Califorias lead... Street light operations was the test model and is now completely contracted out... I understand Substation construction and operations is next on the list... CenterPoint had some other problems in the Deregulation launch in that they got caught up in the Enron troubles so thier dereg launch was a bit wobbley... They ended up borrowing two billion dollars from Mr. Buffet at fourteen percent interest... There are laws regulating how big a chunck of the nations Electrical Infrastructure one group can own...Warren is maxed out... he is lobbying to get that changed... in the mean time he found a way to own CenterPoint Defacto... Anyhow you can bet your bottem dollar the same thing went down in Florida... California is now trying to beef up its work force... a hard thing to do since most Utilities have not been training new lineman for the last ten years... They have been getting rid of Lineman and taking up the slack with contractors, to whom they pay no benifits and can put down and pick up as they please...
When a storm blew on Houston, I knew where the problems would be, I knew the area and the equipment... I worked the same area for twenty years... I learned from the men who were there before me... little good that knowledge does them or me now... saying contractors are less experienced is a bit of a misnomer, in that the contractor payroll is chock full of ex-utility hands. Multiply that scenario in Florida and across the country.

...This same scenario has been played out all over the country... It's sad to say but this model is not unique to The Electrical Utility Industry... I believe that is why Americas edge is slipping... The dollar has become more important than the people who made that dollar happen... Experience and quality has been sold down the river for a short term gain...

[Linemo]

Well put CP now David this will fit just about any major Investor owned utility in America no joking what so ever !Once these Utilities got things {Deregulation} going thier way the bottom line is cut costs maximize profits !The bad part is Customer service is horrible and when you go to get any kind of service the prices are now outrageous !But the shit has hit the fan and the manning tables are just starting to turn but oh so slowly!!!Just look at any area that has been hit by these hurricanes and do some research on the pecentage of workers sent as in Utility employees or Utility Contractors !Utilities dont have the men to send like we would of in the past this is why Utility contractors are prospering so well because they are the suppliers of the just in time work force! Note do not take this as contrator bashing because it is not this is simply factual answers to your questions!!!!!!!!!!

[igloo64]

I Dodnt Appreciate Your Comment About Contractor Being Less Experianced Than The Power Company Hands. Being A Contractor Lineman , Journeyman Of Course I Have Had The Priviledge Of Working With Some Of The Best Lineman In The World. I Have Had Some Times When The Power Company Gives Us The Shittiest Work Available. Work That The Power Company Hands Would Run Home Crying Over. Work That They Wont Do. A Lot Of It. So Next Time Show Some Respect To Us Contractors . Your Lively Hood Depends On It. John O. P.s. It Will Also Save You An Ass Kicking!

[topgroove]

Back in 2000 I almost jumped ship and went with FPL. I interviewed with them and they offered me a position. I got to see there training facility. Back then they were pushing through two dozen new hires every six weeks through that school. Of all the utilities I've seen FPL has done the most to address the issue of lack of skilled lineman in the trade.

[lineman barn]

TopGroove----I used to recruit for Florida Power Corp before CPL took it over and talked to a bunch of guys applying for, and leaving FPL. They did run a bunch of new hires through, but it wasn't because they wanted to increase staffing to do the right thing. It's because of all the layoffs they did that left them ill prepared. Tons of guys have left that company......I think the PSC may have even had a word on it. They had to hire people and it was difficult at times because some of the areas they were hiring in weren't where the linemen applying wanted to live. I heard it first hand.

But, it's with all IOU now.....same thing happening every where.

Be Safe!

[CenterPointEX]

Igloo makes a point... I worked twenty years for CenterPoint/Reliant/HL&P... The last 14 as a troubleman on nights and bad shifts... At times I would go in the easement... look at the job and make the call... give it to the contractors this one is a crap job... Not that the Country Clubs hands couldn't do it... The contractors had to earn their money... I used to feel sorry for them poor dirty bastards... Now I am one of them... There is a reason they are dirty... they waller in a lot of crap handed down by the Country Club hands... Thax dudes... keep it comming....

[igloo64]

Not All Utility Hands Are Bad. I Want To Make That Point Clear , Im Not Trying To Bash Anyone ,but We Usually Get The Shitty Work But Its Made Me A Great Living And I Dont Want It To Change At All!

[lineman641]

Hello dave,I guess I’ll be the first fpl’re to respond. I read your save the turtle and save the gas articles in your paper. Let me start by saying you have no clue what a lineman does! I think you just got this assignment and found this site on google.have you read any threads on fpl on this site???...no I bet not …a reporter is one step lower than a used car salesman, only you can see a car if you buy it!! .the psc will tell you we don’t put on enough guy guards, fpl will tell you they are the best thing since sliced bread. The experts will tell you everything they never did. the union will might tell you something, but I don’t know what….cp has a good post, read it….igloo has a right to be pissed, a good lineman is hard to come by. most of the contractors on fpl territory are not worth a sh@t.... just write your article even if you don’t have the real information ,no reporter ever does !!

[Lnemn's Mom]

Hello dave,I guess I’ll be the first fpl’re to respond. I read your save the turtle and save the gas articles in your paper. Let me start by saying you have no clue what a lineman does! I think you just got this assignment and found this site on google.have you read any threads on fpl on this site???...no I bet not …a reporter is one step lower than a used car salesman, only you can see a car if you buy it!! .the psc will tell you we don’t put on enough guy guards, fpl will tell you they are the best thing since sliced bread. The experts will tell you everything they never did. the union will might tell you something, but I don’t know what….cp has a good post, read it….igloo has a right to be pissed, a good lineman is hard to come by. most of the contractors on fpl territory are not worth a sh@t.... just write your article even if you don’t have the real information ,no reporter ever does !!
I would say that coming to a site where linemen post is an excellent place to get the lay of the land. Who better than linemen to tell the good, bad and evil of the job. You guys, think for a minute.........he is asking for your imput. Now's your chance to let him know just how dangerous this job really is, whether you are union or non-union. Give him your info, and see what he makes of it. Just a thought of course....... For what its worth.

[Bull Dog]

Gee guys i dont know what planet your on but were i live the contractors get all the good jobs and the utility guys get the crap. see they cant make any money in the back lots so us lazy utility guys get to fight the fences and get our hooks on. The contractors want all the road jobs and they usually get what ever they want period. Of course there all in mississippi and florida now and left us short handed. They have to go and we lost half of our work force as a result too bad hey we miss them. Now all of the contractors workers are union so we get along well. Im little jelous of them making all that cash. Main thing here is work smart and work safe. The Dog

[lineman641]

I would say that coming to a site where linemen post is an excellent place to get the lay of the land. Who better than linemen to tell the good, bad and evil of the job. You guys, think for a minute.........he is asking for your imput. Now's your chance to let him know just how dangerous this job really is, whether you are union or non-union. Give him your info, and see what he makes of it. Just a thought of course....... For what its worth.
O.K mom,your point is well taken....I don't mean to make this a union non-union issue or a contractor issue....to be fair I have seen some sh@t work from some of our own people as well......As you might be able to tell,I am not to fond of reporters,this is from past expereance.tell them the truth and they will turn it around and make no sence at all.maybe the editor or reporter doesn't want to upset the company......I think I will put together some facts and see what he does with it.........thanks mom...............I can see the headline now "power knocked out to city because a telephone pole jumped out in front of a truck"..........

[Lnemn's Mom]

O.K mom,your point is well taken....I don't mean to make this a union non-union issue or a contractor issue....to be fair I have seen some sh@t work from some of our own people as well......As you might be able to tell,I am not to fond of reporters,this is from past expereance.tell them the truth and they will turn it around and make no sence at all.maybe the editor or reporter doesn't want to upset the company......I think I will put together some facts and see what he does with it.........thanks mom...............I can see the headline now "power knocked out to city because a telephone pole jumped out in front of a truck"..........
Darn pole should have stayed put! LOL

[CenterPointEX]

Having lived now on both sides of the fence... Utility hands don't have a clue how good they got it... Kudos to Mom for admonishing dem boys fer jumpin down Mr. Fleshlers black box... Ya got the ear of power boys... Make the most of it... I'm thinkin though Mr. Fleshler that the powers that be will not let This story see the light of day... I'll be suprised if'n I'm wrong about that...

[DavidFleshler]

Judging from some of the responses, I probably should write a little more about what I'm doing..

The editors here assigned this article to me and another reporter, Joe Mann, after the last two hurricanes came through, when a lot of people complained about their power going out and complaining that FPL took too long to restore it.

We were told to assess FPL's reliability record, but under normal conditions and in storms. We've pulled documents from the PSC (with outage stats etc), talked to utility experts in and out of Florida, talked with FPL, talked with the PSC, talked with some IBEW officials, and that's pretty much it so far.

I posted on this forum because I think linemen would know a lot about what's improved and what hasn't, what the company has done to make things better or worse, what should be done, etc etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[CenterPointEX]

Reregulate... that we would again have controls on a part of our infrastructure that is so vital to every day life... That we would no longer be at the mercy of a shister trying to make a buck... As in the case of California there is no short term fix outside a marshall plan...

[lineman641]

Fact ..fpl has over 50,000 new accounts a year but will not increase the work force. Right now there are just over 3000 bargaining unit positions, 800 are eligible for retirement. There is a nation wide shortage of qualified lineman ,yet most company’s have only token apprentice program, if any at all.. Fact…..the average age of a lineman at fpl is 48……the average work hours of a lineman based on a 40 hour week is 18 months a year. Fact…the maintenance budget this year is pretty good, but if you consider there was no maintenance for over 10 years we will never catch up. I would say that reliability and response here is pretty good considering this is florida (hurricanes and lightning).,but because fpl is more worried about fixing a street light than a rotten pole ,priorities are a little screwed up . enter p.s.c., lawsuits ,liability, that’s what runs this company. In dade and broward there are about 2 million accounts but only about 400 linemen, maybe….over here we cover about 400,000 people with 40 qualified field personnel. This is where the contractors come in. generally speaking they are much less trained than company employees but with out them very little maintenance or new construction would get done because fpl doesn’t have the man power. Ask them how long is the wait to have a service to a new home installed? Now with the restoration in the gulf, man power is even less and will be for quite a while. This is a national problem and it’s not gonna get any better. AS far as outages go I think you’ll find that trees, animals, vehicle’s and that guy on a back-hoe cause the most, and I don’t think you’ll find any fpl employee out there planting a tree under the primary…this country runs on electricity and needs more and more every day, everyone complains when their out but nobody wants that power plant or sub-station in their neighborhood, build a new line in my backyard ,no way!! ……I think C.P. might be right, the only place a story on fpl will go is the round file unless it’s good for fpl……good luck …..And don’t think that putting it all under ground is the answer, that would take a new post…Dave, look through this site. You will find some very interesting things in here!

[lineman641]

Having lived now on both sides of the fence... Utility hands don't have a clue how good they got it... Kudos to Mom for admonishing dem boys fer jumpin down Mr. Fleshlers black box... Ya got the ear of power boys... Make the most of it... I'm thinkin though Mr. Fleshler that the powers that be will not let This story see the light of day... I'll be suprised if'n I'm wrong about that...
hey c.p.,many hands that work for utilitys have come from the contractors,so they do know...why did you leave? your choice?..yeah sometimes it takes a "mom" to put us on the right track.....god love them all!!!

[CenterPointEX]

Involuntary Severance... In our wave 500 were laid off.. 80 out of distribution... they targeted fourty years old with twenty years of service... I was low seniority in that catigory... same reason I spent fourteen years on nights...It was about dollars... Pensions used to be based on thirty year treasury notes... the govt. quit sellin em... So the govt. came up with a new variable matrix formula based on interest rates... that told em how much to put in the account so the employees money would be there when the time came... Interest rates fell thru the floor... the old guys had their money there so their contribution was small... the young guys had a ways to go, ditto... the folks in the middle were costing them an arm N leg to support... So they did what was fical... or so they thought...

[OLE' SORE KNEES]

Not enough regular maintenance is done,most poles that fall are rotten because they are over at least 30 years old,Rusty hardware on beaches are another hazard not only to the worker but the public also.and then there is tree-trimming ,they don't have a regular schedule most of the time when it burns something down ,then they decide to tree trim,those are the big 3 - 1. rotten poles 2. old hardware 3. tree trimming,Money saved for this is sent to the CEO..........just do a search on him,he got a 74% increase in pay last year,not bad compared to our 3% HUH?

[igloo64]

I love the shitty work. Its made me a ton of money! Keep it coming I have things I want to buy after my Viper is paid off! Just kidding.

[CenterPointEX]

www.powerlineman.com/lforum/showthread.php?t=436 This might be relavant Mr. Fleshler

[DavidFleshler]

Hi Everyone - Here's a link to a story I wrote with a couple other reporters on FPL's failure to deal with rotten poles. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with anything I should follow up on with FPL and hurricanes or FPL and anything else. so drop me a line at dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com or message me privately through the forum. thanks.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/childrensfund/sfl-cfpl06nov06,1,3278309.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

[DuFuss]

In case you want to read it... Click here. (http://www.bugmenot.com/view.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sun-sentinel.com)

[CenterPointEX]

Excerpt from Mr. Fleshlers article...
....."Company executives say they were surprised by the amount of damage to poles. But a July report by the Florida Public Service Commission had warned that FPL's program for inspecting distribution poles was inadequate. It said the company's contractor performed inspections at such a slow rate that it would take 60 years to reach all the poles in the system."

That's B.S. ... The Company execs expected it... and speed at which the inspection is done is intentional... Same way the Light Copany Execs moved the tree trimming rotation from three years to five years... Saved the company millions they did...?
....The execs don't want the expense of the maint cost... it cuts into their bonus accounts... When hurricanes hit, the expense is bourn by the Feds N Insurance dollars, leaving their service center budgets in tact... As in the case of the Levees in Louisanna, large chunks the money earmarked fer levee maint. ended up in bonus buckets N pork barrels... In 60 yrs those who want to make off with those maint. dollars will be long gone... If'n ReRegulation kicks back in, things are gonna be good for Lineman for quite some time... as we will have years of catching up to do... ala California... The longer we let deregulation of The Power industry continue... the deeper a mess we will be in... Cause Ethics ain't at the top of the list in bussiness class ever since God got outlawed from the Schools.... The only thing that matters to em thease days is, "Am I gonna have a good "Xmas" and will me N the Wife get to go to Paris this summer?" I reckon that's their motivation... Maybe you could shed some light on us Mr. Standish?

[Tshooter]

You should investigate as much as possible both your location and the USA.You just may find out that the dirty little secret of short staffing and forced overtime is common all over.This job is so undermanned and the accidents are so overlooked by the media,that you might have more of a story than you bargained for or realize.

[Stanman, at ComEdy Il.]

TShooter is absolutely right about this being a nationwide problem! Here in Illinois they wait for a storm to blow through and finally knock down the rotten poles.

Just recently the company has forced us to travel over 2 hours one way to jobsite report in the city of Chicago. In the city, in the alleys the wind can't blow these rotten ones over, so there they sit, being held up by the wire, service drops, phone, cable t.v. etc..... We have thousands out there, but the company does a hundred to impress the powers of the state. What a joke!!! :rolleyes:

We have half the workforce of 7 years ago. Everyone has between 1,000 and 2,000 hrs. of O.T. for each of the last 5 yrs. Some life! I know, if I don't like it go somewhere else!

Just remeber, if you need help ask, then insist! If it's not safe get an outage! Safety comes first and foremost with these rotten f@#$ing poles. Maintenance is a joke, as CP has alluded to. The bastards at the top know they could never keep up and make money. Should of made my handle "Forced and Short handed", course that is every lineman's name these days. Work safe fellas!

[CenterPointEX]

California Utilities have been snowed under ever since they were forced by State Law to begin regular inspections of faciltites... It's so bad they are importing Lineman from Canada cause the number of hands available in the U.S. cain't even begin to make a dent in thier problem... Talking to the hands out there... A large percentage of the really bad ones have been taken care of... judgeing by the poles I worked on while I was out there... I would hate to have dealt with the really bad ones...
....Lineman don't just happen... they are made by experience... Companies decided they could get rid of half their people and take slack with contractors whom they could pick up and put down as the work load warrented... Problem is there is a about a three year lag time from when it's decided more lineman are needed til one can make it thru the apprenticship program... While they are apprentices they slow down Jys', cause now the JY has to do his job and keep the new guy from killing himself or someone else... cause shit happens... and if'n ya ain't never been around when it happened ya just cain't know about it... like if'n a apprentice sees ya gloving somethig off the pole ya ain't supposed to be, he might think he can get away with it... he don't know about stuff like making sure yer hooks aint touchin some hardware or a ground etc.... he just sees ya grabbin sumting ya ain't supposed ta, and gettin away with it...
... California was the first state to deregulate, so they are ahead of the curve... when they deregulated, they got rid of half their hands and ceased maint. operations... brought in the same cash as before they stopped doing maint.... Wigs got their bonuses... Bought a lot of stock... watched the price go up cause the company was cash rich... sittin on them maint. dollars... N when the pot got right... they sold the stock... left employees; who owned a lot of stock in 401Ks', holding the bag.... now with their life savings gone... they gotta work the forced thousand hours of overtime or get on down the road... wit nuttin but a swift kick in da arse...
... Any how point is... should your state enact a law similar to CAlifornias... Its gonna come wit a big price tag... California didn't make such a law til they had no choice... it was either that or sit in the dark or sweltering heat fer days on end.... Does anyone remember still the massive rolling blackouts? And the pricetag of the power they did manage to scrape up?...
.... It's not if, but when the same thing happens in your neighborhood...

[old horseman]

Dave I am IBEW contractor lineman and just returned home to New York from Florida. I know the contractor Lineman from the Northeast are some of the best trained in the world. Some of the non-union contractors down south will higher almost anybody. Some of the non union crews I ran across had shit equipment and were lacking in training. Some of the other non union crews were very sharp. Its just luck of the draw. Now I will answer your ? about FPL. As it has been stated FPL as ignored maintenance for a long time so that is a major part of thier problem. FPL crews have been 16 hours a day since May, they are tired and run down and under paid. Last week I read an article in the Maimi Herald were they asked outside experts about the condition of FPL system. These Idoits who are all engineers outside the electrical industry gave thier advice on how the system fell down and stupid adive telling powers that be that city officals or government officals should be brought into the loop to approve and inspect all FPL lines. These clowns have no idea why most of the poles fell over. These experts should stick to engineering block walls or whatever and leave powerlines to our semi-capable engineers. The reason the system failed was some of the poles were rotted below ground due to years of moisture and neglect others failed because of joint use. The Communaction industry pulls thier line a hell of lot tighter then we do, resulting in less flexability for the entire pole. Thats why you saw alot of poles snapped off just above the comm wire. The last and probaly the most frequent reason so many pole feel is called shock loading. Thats when a tree falls on a line setting off a vibration that cascades down the line increasing the wave as it goes (Pebble in a pond effect) finding the weakest pole and breaking. Might be the next pole, or the same pole or it might be a pole 10 spans away with out a tree in sight or it might not do anything. One thing the people of Florida could do is bring pressure to bear on FPL mangement to replace all the open wire secondaries in peoples backyards with Triplex. This would eliminate alot of the outages caused by tree limbs & debris shorting out the circuits. Last but not least do some research and talk to FPL crews before you write your story these are some hard working bothers.

[old horseman]

Dave I am IBEW contractor lineman and just returned home to New York from Florida. I know the contractor Lineman from the Northeast are some of the best trained in the world. Some of the non-union contractors down south will hirer almost anybody. Some of the non union crews I ran across had shit equipment and were lacking in training. Some of the other non union crews were very sharp. Its just luck of the draw. Now I will answer your ? about FPL. As it has been stated FPL as ignored maintenance for a long time so that is a major part of thier problem. FPL crews have been working 16 hours a day since May, they are tired and run down and under paid. Last week I read an article in the Maimi Herald were they asked outside experts about the condition of FPL system. These Idoits who are all engineers outside the electrical industry gave thier advice on how the system fell down and stupid advice telling powers that be that city officals or government officals should be brought into the loop to approve and inspect all FPL lines. These clowns have no idea why most of the poles fell over. These experts should stick to engineering block walls or whatever and leave powerlines to our semi-capable engineers. The reason the system failed was some of the poles were rotted below ground due to years of moisture and neglect others failed because of joint use. The Communaction industry pulls thier line a hell of lot tighter then we do, resulting in less flexability for the entire pole. Thats why you saw alot of poles snapped off just above the comm wire. The last and probaly the most frequent reason so many pole fell is called shock loading. Thats when a tree falls on a line setting off a vibration that cascades down the line increasing the wave as it goes (Pebble in a pond effect) finding the weakest pole and breaking. Might be the next pole, or the same pole or it might be a pole 10 spans away with out a tree in sight or it might not do anything. One thing the people of Florida could do is bring pressure to bear on FPL mangement to replace all the open wire secondaries in peoples backyards with Triplex. This would eliminate alot of the outages caused by tree limbs & debris shorting out the circuits. Last but not least do some research and talk to FPL crews before you write your story these are some hard working bothers.

[woody]

old horseman hit the nail on the head...most poles were rotten at the base or broken just above the phone trunk line. Also true about the article in the herald...please don't take their advice...really electrical engineers do know more on this subject than those that threw there two cents in. I also just back from florida...it was a mess...worked on poles that haven't been fixed from previous hurricanes. woody

[LIGHTSOUT]

hay brother i am an fpl lineman and i wish more people would write posts like you brother. we need to educate the people about the true facts if we are going to have a chance. thanks lightsout

[wood walker]

The comany has let the system go to the point of collapse. They always roll the dice and this time it didn't work. The problem is that they will get away with it again. To bad the FPSC has no teeth they are bought and paid for.

[LIGHTSOUT]

David even with all the bad press from the media FPL will go on with bussiness as usual because they have the power and the money. They are already disputing the reported stories of poor maintenance.They will spend what it takes to hide the truth.The only hope of ever getting at the truth would necessitate removing the gag from the employees of fpl who work on this electric system every day.When the employees can talk freely without fear of retribution to the city leaders who are concerned for their citizens then I will believe things will change for the better. Some one has got to be wrong in all this, it`s either the media or FPL . I know the truth but I can`t say a thing for fear of losing my employment. The truth will set you free!! but in this case you will be free to look for another job. Good luck

[lineman641]

Storm Update - Key Messages: Hurricane Wilma - FPL's Pole Inspection Program





Key Messages
FPL's Pole Inspection Program October 28, 2005

FPL has a three-pronged pole maintenance plan.

. One: We conduct a yearly pole inspection program where we visually
check pole conditions.
. Two: FPL crews inspect poles as part of their daily routine
maintenance calls. We inspect the poles and in addition we are also
looking at the condition of the nuts and bolts, wires and circuits.


Three: We also conduct thermal inspections to test the connectivity of the power lines. Thermal inspections 'are conducted with equipment that allows workers to view in color the heat dispersion of the power lines. The different temperatures indicated by the different colors provide an accurate look into power line soundness.
. Our inspections have revealed that on average annually only five percent of the poles inspected need action - either bracing, or a chemical treatment to maintain their longevity against the elements or they need outright replacement.


Our yearly inspections are meant to be preventive in nature and have resulted in providing customers with one of the most reliable services in the nation and the most reliable in the state.

. While we conduct work throughout the year, we do a lot of work the
first six months of the year to be ready before the hurricane season.
. We buy the best available materials and build to the overhead
standard required by state regulators.
. While we maintain a high standard of reliability year-round, no overhead or for that matter, underground system will ever be completely "hardened" so as to be immune from the destructive power of a hurricane.

In 2004, FPL's average annual duration of outage was less than 70 minutes.

. FPL customers were out of service only an average of 69.7 minutes during the year, the lowest of all investor-owned electric utilities in Florida and only about half of the national average of 137.8 minutes.
. Since FPL launched a major reliability improvement initiative in 1997,
FPL's out-of-service average has decreased by 49 percent.
. The average number of minutes a customer was out of service per interruption - approximately 57 minutes - also was the lowest of any utility regulated by the PSC and a little more than half of the national average of nearly 108 minutes.
. The average annual interruption frequency per customer decreased
for the year, from 1.35 in 2003 to 1.22 in 2004.

[youngbuck]

David even with all the bad press from the media FPL will go on with bussiness as usual because they have the power and the money. They are already disputing the reported stories of poor maintenance.They will spend what it takes to hide the truth.The only hope of ever getting at the truth would necessitate removing the gag from the employees of fpl who work on this electric system every day.When the employees can talk freely without fear of retribution to the city leaders who are concerned for their citizens then I will believe things will change for the better. Some one has got to be wrong in all this, it`s either the media or FPL . I know the truth but I can`t say a thing for fear of losing my employment. The truth will set you free!! but in this case you will be free to look for another job. Good luck



I am a FPLer also . They {management} only want yes sirs. You are just a number , easily erased and added. They don't care about your home life just what makes them look good for their bonuses. Last year i had to find my own hotel through the stroms becaused i lived out of my work area. Iwas told that was my problem because I choose to drive. When it was my home area that took the blunt of the stroms. That is just one of many cases. They don't care about its workers.

[LIGHTSOUT]

The current regime at fpl can best be described as self centered and authoritarian. They only care about themselves and the bouses they can make. A good example can be seen in the way they managed to get millions of dollars in bonuses for themselves from the storm recovery rate case.They say we are here for the customer!!! Well nobody believes this statement coming from upper management because we see the hypocrisy of this company on a daily bases. A point of fact to support this is all the lack maintenance issues that have been reported on. They cut the workforce so they had to cut maintenance this is a no brainer,they cut maintenance and it saves them money they can use for power plants and transmission line that generate the big money and add value to the company.After years of cutting the maintenance budget in distribution we are working all the overtime you can handle to keep people in lights, doing restoration (bandaid work) but little if any preventive maintenance.They hold the yards on a daily bases in the summer storm season and force people to work extended hours. The hypocrites will send you all kinds of letters telling you how much they appreciate your hard work but say no to 9 hour rest provision in our contract. They ask for 16% for fuel increase and they get 19% and they dont ask for lost revenue but they get it anyway 34mil. What do we get ??? ask for more workshirts ,they say no, ask for 9 hours rest (NO!!), ASK FOR A BETTER PENSION (NO!!) THE NO`S ARE ENDLESS.The customer gets it just as bad , they pay for a service only to have to pay for it again at a much steeper price. WHILE THE FPL CREWS WORK THE STORMS AT 8HRS STRAIGHT AND 8 HRS TIME &HALF THE FOREIGN CREWS ARE ON ALL TIME & HALF AND SOME WHO HAVE A 9 HR REST PROVISION IN THEIR CONTRACT ARE ON DOUBLE TIME THE WHOLE TIME THEY ARE WORKING.What about the FPL crews who went to Texas didn`t they make premium pay??? Hell no 8hrs straight 8hrs time & half but they slept in an air condition tent and caught pneumonia!!! Have we learned our lesson yet??? Who let this situation happen ??? Why are we still tolerating it ??? Either pick up the sword and fight with it or fall on it. LIGHTSOUT

[walkingtall]

I am with you bro................more than you know......1 of the 4

[youngbuck]

lightsout;

you are right on . But the problem is fellow bro.s . We need solidarity.
My wife says that most of the men I have worked with are worst then woman. Complaining trying to find something wrong with others and belittleing one another. How can you become strong in that forum.I believe most have forgotten what a union is for. Solidarity!!!!!

It's my future

[LIGHTSOUT]

This is true youngbuck I am disgusted with the way we fight amongst ourselves, especially when it is done in front of management.We can not let ourselves to be brought down to that level. The problem of lack of solidarity is only a symptom of a disease!!! The disease is the poor leadership or lack of leadership in this system council SC-U4. BUT our leaders blame the membership for the lack of unity, they say we dont show up at the meetings and that when we do all we do is bitch. This cycle must be broken and it is going to take new blood, we must get rid of the shorttimer syndrome that has plagued this union for a long time. To the brothers that care more about using their seniority for their own gain rather than whats best for all, shame on you and may you have a retirement party soon. Lets stop the use of seniority to cherry pick work and give it to contractors, some of us have a ways to go before we retire. ALL this only hurts us and helps them.

[Grunt Bucket]

The line junkies have spoken some awfull good truths about tree trimming ,low or no maintenance and last but not least rotten or deteriated poles. That should give you enough to get things started and maybe you should ask fpl how many hours of forced overtime their employees work (have them explain that in detail what is forced and what is voluntary) to keep up with this decreped electrical system.and use the other information that my brother gave you about how many employees since the big restructuring and how many meters and customers fpl has added. Most of all I think you should survey fpl's customers in your paper and see how many have called fpl to report rotten or leaning poles 2 years before the storm era,(2003,2004) and what the response was from fpl or if there was a response.I cannot tell you how many customers came up to me after the storm to tell me and my brothers how much they appreciated what we do and thanked us but had not one good thing to say about fpl and of how they treat them and how many times they called fpl about leaning poles or rotten poles only to come out and find them on the ground and the neighborhood out of power .If you want to get fpl's attention, to do what they should be doing because I don't think you ever get anyone to admit to messing up,you fire up the customer P.S. Ask fpl about the flyer they mailed out to customers about approved tree trimmers to cut trees in fpl right of ways trying to get the customer to pay for the cost, who knows there might even be some customers that might even tell you that they did pay for it just so they didn't have to worry about the trees taking the lines down again (just so they wouldn't be out of power 1ofthe4

[TEX]

Reregulate... that we would again have controls on a part of our infrastructure that is so vital to every day life... That we would no longer be at the mercy of a shister trying to make a buck... As in the case of California there is no short term fix outside a marshall plan...


CenterPoint is absolutely right. The transmission and distribution systems in this ENTIRE country is much too vital to the health of this country to let the corporate morons and their lacky Federal friends in Washington continue run the entire electrical system into the ground.

I've been a lineman for thirty two years and have pretty much seen it all and heard it all. The big shots in our company jump on the " Mother Nature caused it !" platform everytime the wind blows just past twenty miles an hour and the outages start coming in. You know, the ones that last twentyfour hours when the rotten poles, rotten crossarms and rotten wire comes down.
There used to be a time, (before deregulation), when it took a fifty mile an hour wind just to start the outages and THEN the people were only out six to twelve hours because the dammage wasn't as sevear and because we had more people that realy knew their stuff and could get things done. These linemen didn't need a fancy painted 200,000$ RV with satilite dishes to tell them how to co-ordinate their trouble calls. THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES AND GOT THE GOD DAMN LIGHTS BACK ON BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE AREAS. tHEY KNEW THE FEEDERS. tHE SWITCH POINTS. THE SUBSTATIONS AND THEIR FEEDS AND THEY KNEW THE PEOPLE.

I have to put a new roof on my house about every twenty to twentyfive years. I have to paint the trim and put new front steps in when needed. I don't WAIT. I make it right so someone doesn't get hurt. I want to keep out the rain and the cold. I don't blame MOTHER NATURE when my roof leaks or my front steps cave in on the mail man. I fix the God damn things BEFORE that happens................Your corporate morons don't seem to get that picture with the electrical system in this country. It just isn't FPL, it's EVERY WHERE in this country. I think you had better BROADEN the scope of your story. Honestly, you could win a Pulitzer if you ask enough of the right questions and get the honest answers. Every lineman in my barn owns a god damn generator for their own homes. Including the boss. What the hell does THAT tell you? It tells me...................that ain't a good sign.

[woody]

Love it brother, right on; telling it like it is!!!! everybody in this trade with any experiance can see the problems and have very good solutions. Unfournately one solution is slowly going away and that is experianced lineman in local utilities, co-ops, rea's, etc. that have cut manpower...thus losing out on local experiance with everybody that leaves. Now these brothers that still work in the tools are tramping, not around or even in the same state to bring back the lights. I'm construction(UNION), on storm it's either a mapbook and radio and circuit map; or birddog w/ map&radio...don't really have all the local yokels perspective if ya know what I mean. We get it up where it belongs...but truthfully if it's not in our backyard...it's gonna take sometime. woody

[CenterPointEX]

hurricane restoration: I feel for the people down south but until these utilities get their heads out of their ass, treat everyone right, company and contract crews, union and non-union. this year is the last time for me. boys we 've gotem by the short hairs.
That brother is on to something.... Are we men or mice? I'm not sure I'm comfortable being on the same page with Woody... But a brother is a brother reguardless of his religion.... We gotta somehow get the corperate vampires to unhand this cash cow... otherwise known as the grid.... before it gets milked dry, leaving us in the dark for a period... In lue of ethics... we have no alternative but force...

[LIGHTSOUT]

I hope Mr fleisher is not losing interest in this story. I am sure fpl is counting on the media scrutiny and public outrage to die down in time. Their are 500 million reasons why they want interest to disappear but the consumer should have an equal interest in having their pocket books protected from fpl. WE ASK FOR ENDURANCE IN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. LIGHTSOUT

[WFO]

The maintenance aspects of your question have been addressed already, and I don't disagree. But from a different perspective from Texas, where we too have de-regulation (more accurately called re-regulation), let me suggest a few things. I'm sure some of the points apply to FPL. Note that I am with a Coop, where profit (stockholders) are not an issue.

1. ROW. Right of way, or tree trimming and the lack thereof, is what caused the massive outage in the northeast a while back. Bitch all you want about budgets, but trimming prevents outages. Our Coop has increased it's budget with noticeable improvement in fewer outages. However, the reality is that even with an aggressive ROW program, the only trees anyone wants to cut are yours, not mine. The lawsuits, threats, and political pull applied to save a tree that is burning in all three phases is incredible. The sad fact is, for all the hind sight bitching that goes on after a storm, the ONLY time you can cut ROW in a practical manner is AFTER A STORM when everybody is out of power and doesn't give a shit about the tree. Wait three months, get your chain saw out, and see how many law suits get filed.

2. Wood rots. Sorry, but it does. The gulf coast of Texas is similar to Floridas with a lot of humidity and wet ground. Put a lot of untrimmed trees around rotten poles and down they come.
But it's not that simple. During several of the last few hurricanes, the demand for poles got so great that the manufacturers were taking short cuts. The pressure treated creosote poles were not being treated long enough to completely permeate the pole. If you cut one in half, a third to a half of the center of the pole was virgin wood. How long do you think it will last?

3. We instituted a cash bonus program for finding safety problems on our system. Know why we had to discontinue it? We found so many problems, we couldn't keep up with our current budgets. But once you have documented a problem, imagine the liabilty it would cause if a lawyer can prove you knew about it but didn't fix it.

4. A transmission line goes down and a 100,000 people are out of power. Why not backfeed from another source? Because to build a new transmission line takes years of legal manuvering in the courts, filing Certificates of Convenience and Necessity with the PUC, and spending months in court with land owners in condemnation precedings. Again, people want power, as long as you don't generate it, or transmit it in their back yard. Why do you think all those transformers that everyone is bitching about are in the back yard where you can't maintain them? Because nobody wants to look at the damn things.

Again, I don't disagree with the points made here; I'm just pointing out that, in the best of times, people (the public) don't really want you to keep your system healthy if that maintenance effects them personally. Cut the other guy's tree, not mine. The litigation involved makes maintennce a problem ALL the time.

If you write this article, ask how many of the people out of power bitched when FPL tryed to cut one of their trees out of the line BEFORE the storm!

"Centerpoint" was dead on about de-regulation and California. But they didn't want power plants "dirtying up my Karma,dude". So when they ran low, and had to buy it from producers in Utah and Nevada (that weren't regulated), they had a cow. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Corporate greed in America is at an all time high, and de-regulation is a prime example. Where else can you take a perfectly good product, mandate the inclusion of a middle man to generate profits for non-producers, while not improving the product one bit? Put a carrot on a stick, tell the public that it is great because now they have choice, decrease the rates to the major manufacturers (while taking up the slack from homeowners) and you have a win-win situation (if you're Enron and not a bill payer). Take away the utilities margins that they use for maintenence (they're wire companies now, not energy companies) and how do you make a profit for your shareholders? Hmmmm, what can we cut? How about maintenance!

My fingers hurt. Time for bed.

[CenterPointEX]

http://www.powerlineman.com/lforum/showthread.php?t=436&page=1&pp=10

CenterPoint Looking for labor shortage solution in Houston

[hambone]

Centerpointex Is Right.what Really Pisses Me Off Is That My Labor Pays The Salary Of The People Running The Company.

[CenterPointEX]

Corporate greed in America is at an all time high, and de-regulation is a prime example. Where else can you take a perfectly good product, mandate the inclusion of a middle man to generate profits for non-producers, while not improving the product one bit? Put a carrot on a stick, tell the public that it is great because now they have "Choice", decrease the rates to the major manufacturers (while taking up the slack from homeowners) and you have a win-win situation (if you're Enron and not a bill payer). Take away the utilities margins that they use for maintenence (they're wire companies now, not energy companies) and how do you make a profit for your shareholders? Hmmmm, what can we cut?
Texas Genco Reliant HL&P Houston Industries CenterPoint.. a shell game...keep your eye on da money?

They have no shame, in a new twist to the milking game, they hide the cash inside a part of the company, move that part off site and drain the cash..

When HL&P split up, they gave those holdin HL&P(Houston Industries) stock, stock in the three resulting companies...The Energy traders(worthless)(Thety conned employees into the I.P.O. to bolster the gate price)( full share) and the wires(cannibalized by maint. cut backs)(full share) and the generators(garonteed income)(20% share).The Generators went with a company called Texas Genco... for every share of HL&P they gave you only a twenty percent share of Genco... The other 80 percent was sold to the public. They planned on repurchasing Genco and had the first right to do so at the end of a predefined period at market value, supposedly that is how market value would be derermined... The market value would be determined by the stock price. Well if you are gonna buy a company you have control of, what are you gonna try and do to the value of the compay on paper? I held my shares of the other two resulting companies CenterPoint, and Reliant cause I thought Genco would be bought back at a discount. When it came time to buy, they were in a credit fix... they didn't have any... So any how the Genco sold... if you were holding Texas Genco you were force sold at fifty dollars a share. Which a bunch of us employees; ex or otherwise, were cause we were still holding trying to not sell at a loss i.e. the paper value kept the stock values depressed.... Genco was sold for nine hundred million, the company that bought it only put down three hundred million. Today, one year later, the buyer just resold it for several billion dollars to a company called NRG ? The middle man just pocketed several billion dollars... They ripped us off... What I would like to know is how many HL&P / CenterPoint / Reliant wigs got their fingers in the middle man company... This my friends was an inside job, no ifs, ands, or buts about it... The general public & stockholders, were fleeced. If you were holding stock and were a consumer, ya got double poked...

[CenterPointEX]

TXU has been playing the same game played with utilities all across the U.S.
TXUs territory is a Rat Stronghold, where the Union Labor has made little inroad, consequently their labor costs have been lower than the national average, thus they have maintained a strong financial postion.




GE, Macquarie Vie to Buy Stake
In TXU's Energy-Delivery Assets
By DENNIS K. BERMAN, REBECCA SMITH and KATHRYN KRANHOLD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 27, 2006; Page A3
General Electric Co. and an investment fund of Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd. are each vying to purchase a big stake in TXU Corp.'s electricity-delivery business, people familiar with the matter said. The transaction could be valued in the range of $5 billion or more.
TXU is weighing whether to accept the valuations offered by the two rival bidders, these people said. It could reach a final deal within a matter of weeks, they added, but also could decide against bringing in a partner.

Under the arrangement being discussed, Dallas-based TXU, the largest electricity company in Texas, would spin off its poles, wires and substations to a newly created company and would sell a 49% stake in that firm to an outside investor. TXU said it would weigh its options for the unit back in October, but the company has largely stayed mum since then. Spokesmen for GE and TXU declined to comment. A Macquarie spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment.

. . . The decision will be closely watched across the utility industry because TXU has become the top performer, by several measures, since Chief Executive C. John Wilder took the helm two years ago. Mr. Wilder has brought new thinking to the sector and his moves are examined, though not always imitated, because of his success.
The entire utility sector is under pressure to find ways to boost profits. Many firms stumbled badly in deregulated electricity markets after 2002 and have since taken a "back to basics" approach. Historically, utilities have been more enamored with the generation side of the business, which absorbed more capital and threw off a larger share of profits, than the energy-delivery business.

Both GE and Macquarie are scouring the world, looking for places to deploy large chunks of capital. GE's energy financial services, which has more than $10 billion in energy assets, has been looking to expand beyond investments in power plants and gas pipelines into transmission systems.

The GE unit's chief executive, Alex Urquhart, said last year that GE is looking to invest at least $10 billion in new projects through 2007. Most recently, Mr. Urquhart said he wanted to invest $5 billion this year in energy assets. GE previously has taken small stakes in electric transmission lines including one in Michigan and one in Chile.

If GE clinches a deal, it could enable the Connecticut firm to install "smart grid" technology in Texas that could help the joint venture win similar business elsewhere, perhaps even sparking transmission consolidation in Texas.

Macquarie, of Sydney, Australia, has diverse and far-flung interests, from a Chicago-area toll road, to stakes in the Copenhagen, Denmark, airport.

Back in the U.S., a modernized grid promises to move electricity more cheaply and reliably and could offer features such as "broadband over power lines" in which Internet and telephonic services are offered to consumers through high-voltage wires. Consumers access broadband over power lines simply by plugging devices into an electric outlet. TXU already has signed a deal with Current Communications Group LLC to roll out broadband services in the near future.

If struck at the right valuation, a spinoff could bring many advantages to TXU. It would reap a large sum of cash that it could reinvest in more profitable businesses, most likely power generation, while still preserving a chance to profit from transmission improvements. The risk is that it could take money from a stable moneymaker, the "wires" business, and dissipate it on other investments that might not pan out.

Mr. Wilder has said he wants to double TXU's coal- and lignite-fired generating capacity in Texas and already has committed to build two big plants at a cost of $2.5 billion. He has told analysts he could generate an additional $4 billion of annual profits, before taxes, interest and other expenses, by investing $7 billion to $11 billion in his solid-fuel fleet -- an eye-popping return in that sector.

Many utility companies feel their transmission and distribution systems need improving but they have been reluctant to spend the money themselves. A few utilities have sold their transmission systems outright, but the prices fetched haven't been enough to create a groundswell.


California Utilities have been snowed under ever since they were forced by State Law to begin regular inspections of faciltites... It's so bad they are importing Lineman from Canada cause the number of hands available in the U.S. cain't even begin to make a dent in thier problem...... California was the first state to deregulate, so they are ahead of the curve... when they deregulated, they got rid of half their hands and ceased maint. operations... brought in the same cash as before they stopped doing maint.... Wigs got their bonuses... Bought a lot of stock... watched the price go up cause the company was cash rich... sittin on them maint. dollars... N when the pot got right... they sold the stock... left employees; who owned a lot of stock in 401Ks', holding the bag.... now with their life savings gone... they gotta work the forced thousand hours of overtime or get on down the road... wit nuttin but a swift kick in da arse...
... Any how point is... should your state enact a law similar to CAlifornias... Its gonna come wit a big price tag... California didn't make such a law til they had no choice... it was either that or sit in the dark or sweltering heat fer days on end.... Does anyone remember still the massive rolling blackouts? And the pricetag of the power they did manage to scrape up?...
.... It's not if, but when the same thing happens in your neighborhood

[CenterPointEX]

Texas, has started with the rolling blackouts... and it is only April...



The Daily Sentinel
Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Stephen Kent Smith, 43, of Cushing died as result of an electrical accident while working for Rusk County Electric Co-op on Saturday.

There were no witnesses to the accident, he said.

Smith leaves behind his wife of 20 years, Tammy Smith, and two daughters, April and Amber Smith.[/QUOTE]

There was a day, when a trouble crew was two men... I got written up several years ago for not taking a handline up the pole and not filling out a tailboard sheet... I was the only one there... I asked them, "Was I supposed to tailboard myself?" "And who pray tell was gonna run the handline?" They said, "If you had gotten in trouble up there they would need a handline to get you down."?????????/

[CenterPointEX]

I am new to this forum as far as contributing, but I have read the posts for a while... I am not a lineman (or a man, for that matter ;) ), but I have worked for an electric utility for 19 years in many capacities... that being said...
my point for posting...

I work for National Grid in upstate New York. I have hated them from the moment they took over Niagara Mohawk. Their lack of concern over their employees safety and well being as well as their lack of concern over customer satisfaction and system reliability is enough to make you puke--even before you find out the billions of dollars in profits the company makes.

Our last contract seems to be one that put a silver bullet into the heart of our union by freely allowing contractors to take over most of our work. Similar to how I know no one who actually voted for Bush (yet he won anyway), I know of no one who actually voted for this last contract (but, I also have to say that there weren't that many who actually read and understood fully the changes that were being voted on, either).... Now I am watching a mass exodus of our aging workforce, and those of us who still have many years before we can even think of retiring are left holding this nasty bag of sh*t that the Greed is handing us-- we are being set up to fail miserably, and that's exactly what we are doing... :mad:

We do not have enough resources available to properly do our jobs... I am a trainee in my dept, and I do not get trained, I get work that a clerk should be doing-- the others in my department have to share vehicles (while the contractors doing our jobs each get their own rental vehicle)... We have to field the complaints about the jobs that the contractors have messed up on, and then fix their work (and not get credit for it)..... we watch as UNION retirees come back as "consultants" and do the jobs our union bros and sis did, and should be doing-- and these jerks are getting paid three times what any of us get paid--I guess I can't blame them, because if they didn't do it, someone else would, but still... they should be supporting the Union....

The lastest slap in the face from the company is that they got fined for poor customer service from the Public Service Commission... One might think that we, as employees, could breath a sigh of relief that finally someone is telling Greed to take care of the business of taking care of their customers... but, no... listen to this... the EMPLOYEES have been told that we are not to speak disparagingly of the company under any circumstances... meaning that when a customer happens to meet up with one of the few remaining faces that actually represent the company in public and attempts to bombard us with their complaints that they haven't been able to resolve satisfactorily over the telephone (which is ALL OF THEM), we will face discipline if we direct them to voice their complaint to the PSC... this company has said that we could face termination if we tell customers that the reason that their work isn't getting done in a timely manner is because we don't have the man power, because the company will not invest the money in maintenance, because the company is not interested in providing customer service... meaning that we are not allowed to TELL THE TRUTH or give the customer a viable alternative to go with their complaint (because I know I can't solve their problems).... I am sickened by this and it gets worse every day...

National Grid is a NON AMERICAN company who is buying up a significant portion of America's electric and natural gas infrastructure... WHY ISN"T THE GOVERNMENT CHALLENGING THIS, MUCH LIKE THE PORT DEALS??? Why is an foreign owned company being allowed to roll all over American workers and consumers like this, and barely a whisper when they continue to buy up more and more???? :eek:

Just needed to rant....
thanks for listening!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Something funny is in the water... America is sitting idley by while our Power Infrastructure is being stolen from under our noses... We who work in the industry understand what is happening... America does not have a clue... Deregulation has allowed Money Brokers to come in and strip the infrastructure and then walk away with bags of money... The question is how do we start a grass roots effort to stop this before it is too late... Already a lot of dammage has been done.

[CenterPointEX]

It is all about the Utilities being fleeced by corperate raiders who are preying on healthy Companies that were made fat operating under REGULATION by Public Utilities Comissions and the like... The reason they don't staff up to demand is because they are not in it for the long haul. In order to keep the shell game going as long as possible, they must work the existing lineman till they drop... They are not concerned about employee retention... they are not concerned about the future or the company... They are concerned about keeping the cash flow going until every last penny is milked out of this nations electrical infrastructure... They have had fire sales on generating Units... B.S... They sell the undervalued generators to companies in which they have a stake in... They then turn around and sell the Units for what they are worth pocketing the money stolen from rate payers who over the years were forced thru unility bills to invest into the system. Check the recent sale of Texas Genco spilt off from Houston Lighting & Power / Reliant / Center Point Energy to NRG... In this deal alone four billion dollars was stolen from the citizens of south texas... It is not just generators they are selling... They are liquidating properties and equipment also... This ain't no Bull Shit... CenterPoint has been in off and on secret negotiations to sell some of their Service Center Properties... Because they have high values... and They have to liquidate the properties in order to move the funds off campus... The Bellaire Service Center Chief among them... The Berry Service Center has already been sold.

..... .. . We have got to start putting pressure on our elected officials... This message must get out to the public before it is too late... The Public does not know this is going on... all they know is they turn on the lights and walla! But if you do the research you will see that outage times are climbing all across the country... California has gone into shock... The rest of the Nation will soon follow... Until America wakes up and smells the coffee... then begins to get grip on this situation... Lineman working for Utilities will be driven til they drop... cause the corperate raiders know the meat and potatoes of this industry are the Lineman... When those boys no longer answer the phone... the gig is up.. A.K.A Enronanomics 101... In order to plug the Dike, they have been putting contractors in IOU Uniforms... It don't cost anything to fill some shoes with a contractor... And when the gig is up... it don't cost anything to get rid of the contractor... as we speak there are contract helpers and apprentices riding on CenterPoint Trucks... Maybe it would be of some consulations for you to know that the trucks are not actually CenterPoint Trucks... but rather leased trucks with CenterPoint Stickers on them... http://www.powerlineman.com/lforum/showthread.php?p=21643#post21643

[two blocked26]

FPL, along with many other companies these days, is all about the money and to hell with quality of life! An employee to them is just a statistic, a number. The way I see it if it wasn't for the PSC, FPL would have gotten rid of their lineman a long time ago( $$$). The PSC requires that we keep a certain number of bodies on the property for trouble calls therefore they can not get rid of all of us! Now those number of required employee's is rising due to growth in S FL and there is a mad dash to fill positions. Filling positions is all they are doing. A lot of our new hires can't climb, can't pass our gloving class, and can't speak a lick of english. In addition, The apprentice program is so far behind it will never catch up to the demand!

In defense of the contractors if it wasn't for them FPL would not get any construction jobs done. We are too understaffed to do this kind of work. The way things currently are it would be impossible to work const. and keep up with trouble calls. As it is most of our employees are getting forced to work 16 hr days 6 days a week. ( In south Fla.) How is that for quality of life! $$$ YES, Life NO!

[lineman barn]

I talk to a lot of linemen, family members and other employees around the country. I keep hearing the same thing from all over. It is nation wide and very sad....

Employees should not feel they are set up to fail yet I have heard this from more than one person. "You get paid a bonus if you make this goal" then they put something else in place that makes it impossible to make the goal.

It seems that a lot of "company Linemen" are so busy due to being understaffed that all they can do is take trouble calls and do a little maintenance.

I did hear from some folks that a lot of companies have said they won't be so willing to send their employees out on storm duty becuase their employees are working so many hours at their home location, they can't do it cause the employees are tired of it. Living in Florida, that is scary to think we won't have qualified linemen coming in after a hurricane.

The sad thing is these companies have seen the shortage of linemen coming for years. It was about 9 years ago or so that I was in Human Resources and my boss told me this very thing. The workforce is getting older and retiring...in 5 years we will be in serious need of linemen. The companies didn't want to spend the money to invest in the future and now they are paying for it...unfortunately so are the workers. They should have started aggressive training programs THEN and there wouldn't be such a shortage of Linemen NOW.

[CenterPointEX]

It is not that they did not want to spend the money to invest... This deregulation thing began comming down the pipe not long after Ma Bell deregulated... Like I said... Corperate Raiders are taking companies over because of the deregulation thing, and they are milking all the money out of them before they get rid of them... They are literally running them in the ground ...on purpose... The linemen are the rubber that meets the road and they are paying a heavy price... They are being driven like a ground rod. This nations electrical infrastructure is being stolen right out from under our noses... They are selling Light Company property here in Houston because it has high value... Drive by the Berry Service Center and look at the for sale sign...The proceeds are not going back into the company. The proceeds are not being used to maintain and train... It is not like they do not need the Service Centers... They are laying the slack on Contractors...

..... It is like if the local Fire Department was privitized... and a new owner came in and sold all the Fire Trucks... Leased some trucks to replace them... then fired all the fireman; no pun intended, then replaced them with contractors who recieved no benifits... Then sold the property to thier son in law for a good price, then signed a lease contract to lease it from the kid... Then took all that money and put it in his pocket and walked away... The fire dept. and the public be damned for being such fools as they watched this scenario take place without interferance... The community will have to dig in their pockets to re establish a fire department... and just ask California... The public will have to dig deep to replace their electrical infrastructure... This is pure insanity... Write your congressman... tell them to come here and take a look at these articles on PowerLineman.com... and tell them you want to put a stop to it... We must put regulation back on this industry so this country does not get run into the ground by greed.

You want to make some real money? Find get yourself togather a bank roll, Get all your friends to invest... Find a fat company that is doing well... buy it... go public with it if'n it ain't already... sell all its assets, get rid of all but the bare necessitys in employees... To keep it look like it is operational get yourself a van load of peak load temps... Then keep collecting the dough ... monkey with the books so it looks like it is still making money... point to the large amount of cash the company has in the bank to drive up the price of the stock... and when the time gets right grab the dough, sell your stock and kick your feet up as you sip on of those fruity drinks with the umbrella... sounds like a Steve Martin Movie, but it ain't... its real... happening all over the country...

[scammy]

we gotta talk,,,,,,,can you do dayton? this is a nation wide problem,,,,,we are killing more lineman now than in the 60s and 70s ,from fatige and lack of training to poor equipment,,,,,,scammy

[CenterPointEX]

CenterPoint just laid off a bunch of the equivalent of Navy Chiefs... College boy managment above and below them came and went over the years but the guys of Butch Bargers caliber always stayed. They were lineman who worked their way up thru the ranks. They knew the bussiness inside and out. Now that they are gone there is no one left to stop the carnage. CenterPoint assets will be sold off lot by lot to the highest bidder the corperate raiders laughing all the way to the bank. The selling of Power Plants i.e. Texas Genco just made the New York Times. Five billion dollars was stolen from the rate payers of the Houston Area. The money for those Power Plants was raised by raising rates to Houston Customers. In fact the Times has started a six piece series on the down side of deregulation and the subsequient fleecing of America. I think the reporter has been here reading my posts cause he is regurgatating my posts in his series. But he has done all his homework and is filling in all the details. The headline on the front page was Power Plants become Blue Chips post deregulation.

There is rumor of Quanta Services which owns North Houston Pole line buying CenterPoint.
__________________

[CenterPointEX]

All I can say is get yourself a natural gas generator for the back yard. The natural gas lines are unaffected by storms etc. I have been seeing a lot of them around the more affluent neighborhoods. The most popular here around Houston seems to be one called Generac. It is a quiet and effecient rascal. I looked them up on line. This company was bought by Briggs and Stratton a few years back and has been doing well. I'm thinking about buying stock in BGG ... The price starts around five thousand per unit. With the way things are going I'm thinking they are gonna be as standard as AC units on new homes.

[CenterPointEX]

TXu is being bought out for one purpose... They are gonna bleed it dry then sell... It is crazy because outside political action nothing can be done to stop these guys from stealing the TXU infrastructure and selling it for cash... Stock holders are powerless to protect themselves... If it was a public company buying TXU it would be different in that you could follow the money... but these guys know what they are doing and don't want to share. It is straight up billion dollar theft.

[CenterPointEX]

I am hearing rumors again about Quanta buying CenterPoint / Reliant / Houston Lighting and Power... more of the same same... With one extra wild card... Quanta employs one largest group of lineman in the U.S.... They have bought up contractors all over the country... both union and non union... So in effect they will be able to take a bigger chunk out of the Utility because they will have the manpower to cover short term emergencies and thus apply patches.

[CenterPointEX]

Can anyone confirm or deny?

[CenterPointEX]

A Quanta company in Houston is under federal investigation for using illegal labor... Mexicans... Imagine that!

[CenterPointEX]

Saw in the paper today that congress is gonna pass a bill requiring employers to fire workers using fake SS numbers... There will be fines associated with not doing so.

[CenterPointEX]

Saw in the paper today that the number of illegals in America has topped 12 million. The logistics of deporting them would bankrupt us.

[Koga]

You mean giving them and all thier relatives,free health care, free education, and all the other welfare bennies , plus tax breaks and ................is cheaper than packin all there asses on a bus headed south ? :confused:

Koga

[TexasNightTrain]

You mean giving them and all thier relatives,free health care, free education, and all the other welfare bennies , plus tax breaks and ................is cheaper than packin all there asses on a bus headed south ? :confused:

Koga
AMEN brother!!

[scammy]

for the price of one cruise missel ,,,,you can not only send them back but pay for the busses in full,,if your not American ,,,,,,,get the **** out,,,,scammy

[Bigheadnc]

for the price of one cruise missel ,,,,you can not only send them back but pay for the busses in full,,if your not American ,,,,,,,get the **** out,,,,scammy

.......tell 'em scammy....

[NJ glove]

First off all of you on here have a background that lead back to imigration. Weather it be your great,great, grandfather or so on. Irish,italians,etc where all imigrants at one point. Don't be so quick to judge. If your not american go home. That is such an ignorant comment. There coming here to work and earn an honest living and if the goverment is passing laws that let them do it legally than good for them. In a generation their kids will be american and guess what they will be just like you. So stop with this is my country etc. shit. Thats what make this the greatest country in the world. You can come here do the right thing and become american and live the american dream. And don't tell me that they are taking our jobs etc. I'm sure you wouldn't be cleaning shit off a toilet for 5.25 and hour. Shame on some of you for even posting ignorant comments like that.

[shaun]

First off all of you on here have a background that lead back to imigration. Weather it be your great,great, grandfather or so on. Irish,italians,etc where all imigrants at one point. Don't be so quick to judge. If your not american go home. That is such an ignorant comment. There coming here to work and earn an honest living and if the goverment is passing laws that let them do it legally than good for them. In a generation their kids will be american and guess what they will be just like you. So stop with this is my country etc. shit. Thats what make this the greatest country in the world. You can come here do the right thing and become american and live the american dream. And don't tell me that they are taking our jobs etc. I'm sure you wouldn't be cleaning shit off a toilet for 5.25 and hour. Shame on some of you for even posting ignorant comments like that.

Back up NJ and slow your roll. I know first hand about immigration and how it goes, LEGALLY! Been there, done it. It actually pisses me off more that these knuckle heads can just walse (sp?) right on over, whenever, "to earn an honest living," as you put it. I definately don't agree with the," [/b]If your not american go home,"[/b] comment either but I DO agree with why he stated it. Some people are like that. Oh well, that's how it goes and it's all over the world, NOT specific the the US. Immigrants should have to come over LEGALLY, like everybody else, and then fairs fair. To use a fake SSN is BULLSHIT and any company entertaining that kinda shit should be closed down. All those people you mentioned, (great, great grandfthers, Irish, Italians...) are probably rollin over in their graves with disgust about now.

I agree with you on the fact that this is a great country and people should be allowed to immigrate but there are rules to follow as to how to do it LEGALLY! All those other f****** can just go home. (I mean everyone...Europeans, Asians, Mexicans, S. Americans, whoever, if they aren't legal.)

[NJ glove]

who makes the rules? Come on now. rolling over in there graves I don't think so. People will come here by any means they can. If a person situation is so unbearable I don't think they would care about the rules. I do believe that you should follow certain rules but when the people that are making the rules are really making them so difficult that you wouldn't ever be able to come to the US than thats a problem. YOu say you know first hand well so do I and I'm sure most of us have had some experience with this. Instead of making ignorant comments about this issue like most on this forum seem to. The issue is not keeping them out. It should be how to effectively let them in. The focus should be on that. I went down to New Orleans after Katrina to help restore power to some of the communities there and guess what I saw. Most of the workers rebuilding that city were mexicans that I'm sure aren't documented. I'm sure they weren't making what I was making either. We should welcome people into this country that want to use it to better themselves. Your always going to have a few bad apples but don't punish the good one either. You talk about welfare,free education,etc. There're more Natural born citizens that are on these programs than those that are here illegally. But the US is spending 1 billion a day in Iraq but can't help solve some of the issues at home. Our efforts should be home as well as abroad, but whats our priority as a nation. MONEY. So you can't make money at home. But helping out a nation with the most oil on the planet seems to be a no brainer. It's all part of the big plan. Don't rag on the immigrants Rag on the policy makers of our nations.

[jerseyslave]

From the L.A. Times

1. 40% of all workers in L.A. County ( L.A. County has 10.2 million people)
are working for cash and not paying taxes. This was because they are
predominantly illegal immigrants, working without a green card.

2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien
Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.

5. Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers
are Mexican nationals here illegally.

6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.


7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles
are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.

8. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.

9. 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking.

10. In L.A. County 5.1 million people speak English.
3.9 million speak Spanish.
(There are 10.2 million people in L.A. County).

(All the above from the Los Angeles Times

Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops,
but 29% are on welfare.

Over 70% of the United States' annual population growth
(and over 90% of California, Florida, and New York )
re sults from immigration.



The cost of immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was,
(after subtracting taxes immigrants pay), a NET $70 BILLION/
year, [Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University]. The lifetime
fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average
adult Mexican immigrant is a NEGATIVE number.

29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.


If they can come to this country to raise Hell and demonstrate by
the thousands, WHY can't they take charge over the corruption
in their own country?


We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue.



THE U.S. VS MEXICO


On February 15, 1998, the U.S. and Mexican soccer teams met at the Los Angeles
Coliseum. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Mexican even though most lived
in this country. They booed during the National Anthem and U.S. flags we respect held
upside down. As the match progressed, supporters of the U.S. team were insulted,
pelted with projectiles, punched and spat upon. Beer and trash were thrown at
the U.S. players before and after the match. The coach of the U.S. team, Steve
Sampson said, 'This was the most painful experience I have ever h ad in th is
profession.'



Did you know that immigrants from Mexico and other non-European countries
can come to this country and get preferences in jobs, education, and government
contracts. It's called affirmative action or racial privilege. The Emperor of Japan
or the President of Mexico could migrate here and immediately be eligible for
special rights unavailable for Americans of European descent.



Corporate America has signed on to the idea that minorities and third world
immigrants should get special, privileged status. Some examples are Exxon,
Texaco, Merrill Lynch, Boeing, Paine Weber, Starbucks and many more.

DID YOU KNOW?
that Mexico regularly intercedes on the side of the defense in criminal cases involving Mexican nationals?

Did you know .. that Mexico has NEVER extradited a Mexican
national accused of murder in the U.S. in spite of agreements to do so?
According to the L.A. Times, Orange County, California is home to 275
gangs with 17,000 members, 98% of which are Mexican and Asian.
How's your county doing?

According to a New York Times article dated May 19, 1994, 20 years after
the great influx of legal immigrants from Southeast Asia, 30% are still on
welfare compared to 8% of households nationwide. A Wall Street Journal
editorial dated December 5, 1994 quotes law enforcement officials as stat-
ing that Asian mobsters are the 'greatest criminal challenge the country
faces.' Not bad for a group that is still under 5% of the population.

Is education important to you? Here are the words of a teacher who spent
over 20 years in the Los Angeles School system. 'Imagine teachers in classes
containing 30-40 students of widely varying attention spans and motivation,
many of whom aren't fluent in English. Educators seek learning materials
likely to reach the majority of students and that means fewer words and
math problems and more pictures and multicultural references.'



Looks to me that we may not be getting the cream of the crop or those yearning to be free, maybe just to people mexico wants to get rid of.

[CenterPointEX]

lINEMAN DOING LINE WORK... ELECTRICIONS DOING ELECRICAL WORK... AND ILLEGAL ALIENS STANDING ON THE OTHER SIDE LOOKING IN...

Sounds like we need a change... Huckabee for President

IOWA NEW HAMPSHIRE, SOUTH CAROLINA, FLORIDA AND BEYOND...
TAKING AMERICA BACK TO ITS ROOTS

[20x]

NJ glove, i am guessing that the problem with illegals is not as great where you live compared to other parts of the country. LA, Texas and here in FL. If you were exposed to more of it I think you would see where some of the comments come from. I can not go anywhere, anyday and not here 50 people speaking Spanish. The grocery store, the Home Depot (who puts their signs in Spanish), everywhere you go . . . Spanish. I have no problem with someone coming here legally, learning the language and obeying the laws. The amount of crime committed in South Florida by illegals vs. American citizens on a per capita basis is unbelievable. Jersey slave and the facts he gave us is right on the money. You talk about more natural citizens being on welfare than those here illegally. That is only because, for now, there is more of us. I think if you based the numbers on a percentage you would find the % of illegals getting gov't assistance is higher than that of American citizens.

The reason that most of the people you saw rebuilding New Orleans were Mexican is the same reason that most construction in Florida is done by Mexicans. The employers will tell you they can get Americans to do the work. They are half right. they can't get Americans to do the work. . . for the money they pay the Mexican. So whose fault is it? The builder does it because he can, the Mexican does it because it pays more than picking oranges or what he was doing it in Mexico and they all do it because our lax immigration laws and porous border allows it.

Be safe.

[CenterPointEX]

It is all about the Utilities being fleeced by corperate raiders who are preying on healthy Companies that were made fat operating under REGULATION by Public Utilities Comissions and the like... The reason they don't staff up to demand is because they are not in it for the long haul. In order to keep the shell game going as long as possible, they must work the existing lineman till they drop... They are not concerned about employee retention... they are not concerned about the future or the company... They are concerned about keeping the cash flow going until every last penny is milked out of this nations electrical infrastructure... They have had fire sales on generating Units... B.S... They sell the undervalued generators to companies in which they have a stake in... They then turn around and sell the Units for what they are worth pocketing the money stolen from rate payers who over the years were forced thru unility bills to invest into the system. Check the recent sale of Texas Genco spilt off from Houston Lighting & Power / Reliant / Center Point Energy to NRG... In this deal alone four billion dollars was stolen from the citizens of south texas... It is not just generators they are selling... They are liquidating properties and equipment also... This ain't no Bull Shit... CenterPoint has been in off and on secret negotiations to sell some of their Service Center Properties... Because they have high values... and They have to liquidate the properties in order to move the funds off campus... The Bellaire Service Center Chief among them... The Berry Service Center has already been sold.

..... .. . We have got to start putting pressure on our elected officials... This message must get out to the public before it is too late... The Public does not know this is going on... all they know is they turn on the lights and walla! But if you do the research you will see that outage times are climbing all across the country... California has gone into shock... The rest of the Nation will soon follow... Until America wakes up and smells the coffee... then begins to get grip on this situation... Lineman working for Utilities will be driven til they drop... cause the corperate raiders know the meat and potatoes of this industry are the Lineman... When those boys no longer answer the phone... the gig is up.. A.K.A Enronanomics 101... In order to plug the Dike, they have been putting contractors in IOU Uniforms... It don't cost anything to fill some shoes with a contractor... And when the gig is up... it don't cost anything to get rid of the contractor... as we speak there are contract helpers and apprentices riding on CenterPoint Trucks... Maybe it would be of some consulations for you to know that the trucks are not actually CenterPoint Trucks... but rather leased trucks with CenterPoint Stickers on them... http://www.powerlineman.com/lforum/showthread.php?p=21643#post21643

CenterPoint Energy just got slapped with a half billion dollar fine for the above mentioned crime. Stealing infrastructure built at rate payers expense. Centerpoint defended their actions pointing to the fact that what they did was; though immoral, not illegal. They valued the generators under the provisions of the law.

[CenterPointEX]

Texas Genco Reliant HL&P Houston Industries CenterPoint.. a shell game...keep your eye on da money?

They have no shame, in a new twist to the milking game, they hide the cash inside a part of the company, move that part off site and drain the cash..

When HL&P split up, they gave those holdin HL&P(Houston Industries) stock, stock in the three resulting companies...The Energy traders(worthless)(They conned employees into the I.P.O. to bolster the gate price)( full share) and the wires(cannibalized by maint. cut backs)(full share) and the generators(garonteed income)(20% share).The Generators went with a company called Texas Genco... for every share of HL&P they gave you only a twenty percent share of Genco... The other 80 percent was sold to the public. They planned on repurchasing Genco and had the first right to do so at the end of a predefined period at market value, supposedly that is how market value would be determined... The market value would be determined by the stock price. Well if you are gonna buy a company you have control of, what are you gonna try and do to the value of the company on paper? I held my shares of the other two resulting companies CenterPoint, and Reliant cause I thought Genco would be bought back at a discount. When it came time to buy, they were in a credit fix... they didn't have any... So any how the Genco sold... if you were holding Texas Genco you were force sold at fifty dollars a share. Which a bunch of us employees; ex or otherwise, were cause we were still holding trying to not sell at a loss i.e. the paper value kept the stock values depressed.... Genco was sold for nine hundred million, the company that bought it only put down three hundred million. Today, one year later, the buyer just resold it for several billion dollars to a company called NRG ? The middle man just pocketed several billion dollars... They ripped us off... What I would like to know is how many HL&P / CenterPoint / Reliant wigs got their fingers in the middle man company... This my friends was an inside job, no ifs, ands, or buts about it... The general public & stockholders, were fleeced. If you were holding stock and were a consumer, ya got double poked...

CenterPoint Energy just got slapped with a half billion dollar fine for the above mentioned crime. Stealing infrastructure built at rate payers expense. Centerpoint defended their actions pointing to the fact that what they did was; though immoral, not illegal. They valued the generators under the provisions of the law.
.......Thats all fine and dandy but the people who perpetrated the crime got to keep the proceeds. The fining of CNP just took more money out of the hands of the stockholders... While the bad guys are still enjoying their villas in the Virgin Islands...

TXU the now largest utility in Texas has just changed hands, going private to overseas investors unencumbered by the Public Utilities Commission... They will take this milk cow and bleed it dry... mark my word... and the public will wake up in the dark one day in the very near future wondering what happened...

[ivanho]

Mr. Fleshler
I can only hope that you will be able to write a very informitive story for your readers. As many have stated in their post's, This is a national concern
for all of us who make our living on the line.
But no matter the amount of dirt you dig up on anyone of the large utilities
in the U.S... Will you actually be able to get the absolute story out there?
WE all know that most of all major media is owned by the very same corprate
Mogals that are the the major investers in the same companies that your story is about. Will your Editor let you run the story in it's full content?
Maybe it will get put somewhere in the middle, lost between the obituaries
and the wanted adds.
I'm sure that FPL will put there own spin on the story to lessen the anger
of it's consumers. And once again it will be left up to us "The line crews,service people, meter readers" who are out there on a dily basis
The front line as my company likes to call us. To do all the PR work.
To feed the masses the corprate propaganda that we all have to eat.
Because Our media has lost it's bite. No longer can reporters like yourself report on anything with real substance.It has to be filterd. No longer can the American People be informed of what is really going on..
Because if we did, Then it surely would be time for the corprate PIGS to go
slaughter....I think their fat enough!!!
So good luck Mr. Fleshler

[CenterPointEX]

Did anybody watch the news today...? The Chickens come home to roost in Florida... In the Dark... Get ready America... You are next... The long term security of our national infrastructure is being sold down the river for short term gain... If I were you America... I would start right now... Call the press... call your senator... call your congressman... Call Obama Lama Ding Dong if you must... but get the word out... Deregulation of the Power Industry was a bad... bad thing!... They bad guys have made our Utility Infrastructure into a Cash Cow and they are milking it dry... Do not let this happen...Make them like the people of California did to inspect every piece of equipment every year and report back the problems and their progress fixing it... I am out there every day... I see... I know... the state of the electrical infrastructure... and believe you me... I am afraid... What started in California and now continues in Florida will find Americans languishing in the Dark in a city near you very, very soon.....

[BigClive]

It's too late. Modern business doesn't have foresight unless it yields big cash tomorrow. It's all about making profit NOW and then moving on when things go pear shaped.

America (and probably Britain) can look forward to ever increasing power reliability issues in the future.

So stock up on (safe) candles and rechargeable lights. Get your personal generator with the proper changeover switch and learn to love it when the lights go out, the candles go on and the barbecue gets lit. :)

[BigClive]

Funny you should mention that... Just today when I opened a xfmr in a neighborhood I heard a Generac Natural Gas Fired Generator crank up. I have been seeing these in a lot of yards... They are about the size of an air conditioner and can supply the needs of a house... With the price of fuel these days, natural gas is the way to go here in Texas... It may soon be cheaper to run your Generac than buy power off the grid. I am so convinced that I bought stock in the comany that makes them... GE.

While working in Armagh (Ireland) I was staying at a small hotel (basically a pub with a few rooms above it), and every evening we'd be drinking in the bar and the lights would suddenly go out, then come back on again a few seconds later. It was the pubs own generator kicking in since it was cheaper to run off-grid in the evenings.

Another thing I remember about that job is that we had to take turns to have a bath after work because the water heating had turned off by the time we got back to the hotel every evening! The water was also brown coloured because it had a lot of peat in it from the natural supply.

That job was also when I discovered that the IRA had a fairly high percentage of gays in it's ranks. Gay mafia indeed. Nothing like a chip on your shoulder to turn you into a terrorist I guess! :eek:

[CenterPointEX]

It's too late. Modern business doesn't have foresight unless it yields big cash tomorrow. It's all about making profit NOW and then moving on when things go pear shaped.

America (and probably Britain) can look forward to ever increasing power reliability issues in the future.

So stock up on (safe) candles and rechargeable lights. Get your personal generator with the proper changeover switch and learn to love it when the lights go out, the candles go on and the barbecue gets lit. :)
Funny you should mention that... Just today when I opened a xfmr in a neighborhood I heard a Generac Natural Gas Fired Generator crank up. I have been seeing these in a lot of yards... They are about the size of an air conditioner and can supply the needs of a house... With the price of fuel these days, natural gas is the way to go here in Texas... It may soon be cheaper to run your Generac than buy power off the grid. I am so convinced that I bought stock in the comany that makes them... GE.






Did anybody watch the news today...? The Chickens come home to roost in Florida... In the Dark... Get ready America... You are next... The long term security of our national infrastructure is being sold down the river for short term gain... If I were you America... I would start right now... Call the press... call your senator... call your congressman... Call Obama Lama Ding Dong if you must... but get the word out... Deregulation of the Power Industry was a bad... bad thing!... They bad guys have made our Utility Infrastructure into a Cash Cow and they are milking it dry... Do not let this happen...Make them like the people of California did to inspect every piece of equipment every year and report back the problems and their progress fixing it... I am out there every day... I see... I know... the state of the electrical infrastructure... and believe you me... I am afraid... What started in California and now continues in Florida will find Americans languishing in the Dark in a city near you very, very soon.....

[rat1369]

i've read alot of bitching about corporate greed without common sense how to fix it. bringing the psc or wash. dc back into regulate isw asinine. citizens of this country have forgotten what makes the US great. individuals standing up for what they believe. yes there would have to be sacrifice. i have worked as a contractor for fpl and the biggest problem i've seen is their customers believe it is a right to have electricity. well my brothers electricity, gas or convience is not a right in this country. if it were i would be working in ocala, fl not nw indiana. to truly solve the electric infrastructure crisis, people need to give up their beliefs that the power co is there for their benefit and realize this is capitalism. to trust uncle sam to do something efficiently is plain idiocy. look at education, immigration, or the myriad of social programs out there. a better example may be our tax system. if the citizens of fl that have fpl svc didn't pay their bills for a month, i mean everyone, then the powers that run the co would get the message. real change and progress requires sacrifice. just look to our founding fathers who pledged their lives, families and fortunes to establish this great nation we live in.

[CenterPointEX]

Some things must be regulated in order to maintain stability... Electric Infrastructure is one of them... We simply can not trust this to fly by night contractors... or Money grubbing Fat Cats selling Long Term Security Down the River for Short Term Gain...

Like Husseain Obama's unstimulating Stimulus... We are giving up half our future paychecks to buy votes for Hussean Obama by giving Bums, Deadbeats, and illegal Aliens 500 dollars apiece... He hopes by making them rich for a day... he can buy thier loyality... and He is pulling money out of our future paychecks in the form of debilitating tax burdens...

When we get under the burden of this Tax Slavery... The People will revolt... The plan will come into motion... under the guise of a Worker Revolution... Marshall Law will be declared... and We will join China, the Soviet Bloc... and all others who fly the red flag of Communism........... Come on People... This is still a free country... But if we keep going Hussean Obamas Direction.... We are done for... Batt's... I am sure you are not gonna get an 500 dollar OBama Check... Precisely because your are... or were... a "Hard Working White Boy"

[mx-5]

sounds like a true bush loving,right wing, ultra conservative, religious right bush freak..have you not seen what your hero bush and his top 1% er's left obama with??.you really must be ignorant if you think anything will be done in a few weeks,what bush and his buddy's did to our country in eight years...do they preach all this hatred at your "christian" church..and obviously a racist..

[Koga]

take it to the Politics & BS !!!! I for one really am tired of hearin about it all . Bitchen and whinnin aint gonna change a damn thing . And the idiots (all of em ) that call the shots in Washington are so far removed from the workin man they could give a rats ass . But Please don't spread this crap to all the areas of this site. Thats all

Koga

[mx-5]

point taken...:o

[Stinger]

Dave - with the recent ice storms we have had, compare the FPL problems with other utilities and you will see what most of us guys have been saying- the utilities have let their systems go to hell, laid off half their lineman, cut their beniefiets, inceased the number of engineers, outsourced a lot of engineering etc. bottom line for any utility is profit to the share holder. I am a contractor union lineman. When we come into to different utilities to do work for which we are well paid and trained to do, I've seen dogs better taken care than the local hands. Thes men signed contracts in good faith when they were young and promised to do right and good work, lived up to their end of the contract, only to betrayed by the power companies for greed. You want a pulitzer prize, take the time and effort to do a good in depth national study and story on the demise of electical reliabilty in the United States. Hell, even the new president realizes the grid system is in complete shambles.

[Koga]

I bet ol Dave don't even come around here anymore. This thread was started in 05 and Im pretty sure he wrote his article by now. The thread has been kept going and as usual turned into a political mud slingin , name callin, end of times warning and other assorted stuff.

Koga

[CenterPointEX]

Dave - with the recent ice storms we have had, compare the FPL problems with other utilities and you will see what most of us guys have been saying- the utilities have let their systems go to hell, laid off half their lineman, cut their beniefiets, inceased the number of engineers, outsourced a lot of engineering etc. bottom line for any utility is profit to the share holder. I am a contractor union lineman. When we come into to different utilities to do work for which we are well paid and trained to do, I've seen dogs better taken care than the local hands. Thes men signed contracts in good faith when they were young and promised to do right and good work, lived up to their end of the contract, only to betrayed by the power companies for greed. You want a pulitzer prize, take the time and effort to do a good in depth national study and story on the demise of electical reliabilty in the United States. Hell, even the new president realizes the grid system is in complete shambles.
Maybe Dave don't come here anymore... maybe he does... This issue came up last week here on local talk Radio... Whether or not Deregulation has made good on its Promises... I contend NO! I hear stuff regularly on the Radio like what I heard a few days ago... Ice storm hits North East... Lights may not come back on til mid February... That time frame is wrong... prior to deregulation the lights came back on within hours or days... not weeks or months... When Alicia hit, HL&P had 1200 Lineman... now they have less than 400... The Service area probably grew by a third since 1983... This scenario has been repeated all over the Nation... Now the lighs go out for weeks and months... I keep this thread alive to keep this message out there... DeRegulation of the Power Grid is now and will continue to be a problem... This is not about shareholder Profit... this is about the the integrity of the American Infrastructure that is the platform for the American Way of Life... The only thing more important than the electrical infrastructure... is our Oil and fuel supply infrastructure...


Koga... I keep hearing that I am name calling... This is not true...

[Koga]

did I ? But as usual it follows. I'm just tired of those that engage in such, always make out every problem that comes down the road a political issue and then the $#it starts flying. Would like to see it contained to the right forum. That way unless ya go lookin for it ya won't step in it. Some times it can be amusing, but then it gets real old real quick.

Koga

[returntotheeve]

did I ? But as usual it follows. I'm just tired of those that engage in such, always make out every problem that comes down the road a political issue and then the $#it starts flying. Would like to see it contained to the right forum. That way unless ya go lookin for it ya won't step in it. Some times it can be amusing, but then it gets real old real quick.

Koga

Word up. Dog.