Down To The Wire Report

[Giuseppina Worster]

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Downed power lines and wires caused by a storm or motor vehicle accident creates danger for anyone who approaches. Keep everyone away and report it to us at 1-800-867-5222 or 9-1-1 immediately.

Utility poles and the wires between them are used to provide electrical, telephone, or cable services. They are primarily owned and maintained by utility companies, such as Verizon, Charter Spectrum, and Con Edison. The poles are usually made of wood. To report a problem with electrical poles or wires, use the Electrical Complaint page.

Street lights have metal poles, and are usually powered by energy supplied through wiring located in the base at the bottom of the pole. They are rarely powered by wires strung between poles. The City's Department of Transportation maintains street lights. To report a street light problem, use the Street Light Complaint page.

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There's a Verizon wire down in front of our house. Call wait times are > 1hr, and we were disconnected when we called to report it. Followed suggestions & link to downed wire assistance from another thread, which led back to the original online customer service we'd already explored. Are there any other options for reporting this???

Heads up: Extreme weather or other factors can bring down lines, including electrical lines. Never approach a downed wire yourself. Always call your local authorities in an emergency.

Never climb power poles or transmission towers.

A typical overhead distribution line has 7,200 volts per wire. Voltages on major transmission lines are as high as 500,000 volts. Both can deliver a deadly shock.

Stay away from downed power lines.

Always assume a downed power line is live and life-threatening. Keep children and pets away from downed lines. Do not attempt to remove a person or animal caught in power lines. Call 911 for help. Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or any other object from a downed line. If you see a downed line, call Georgia Power at 1-888-891-0938 or your police or fire department to have the downed line barricaded until it can be repaired. Warn others to stay away.

Never drive over a downed line or under a low-hanging line.

Beware of downed lines touching a vehicle. Stay away from the vehicle and the line. If a power line hits your car while you're inside, stay put and wait for help. If the car catches fire, then jump clear without touching metal and the ground at the same time. Shuffle away while keeping both feet on the ground.

Keep ladders, antennas, kites and poles away from power lines.

Remember: Weatherproofing on overhead wiring is not insulation. If you are holding any of these items and they come into contact with a power line, you could receive an electrical shock.

If you are near a downed power line or something touching a downed line, DO NOT WALK OR RUN. Why? Electricity travels through the ground in all directions. The voltage decreases the further you are away from the downed wire. If you walk or run, you could conduct electricity in one leg at one voltage into the other leg at another voltage. This could shock or kill you. Keep both feet on the ground and shuffle with your legs close together as you move away from the downed line.

If you absolutely have to get out, JUMP out of the vehicle without touching the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then shuffle with your legs close together to move away from the vehicle. If you have a young child or infant in the vehicle with you and you must get out, hold them tight to your body while you hop out of the vehicle. Do not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time or you will become the electricity's path to the ground.

You own some of the equipment that brings electricity into your home (see graphic). If you have damage to the electric service lines coming into your home, you will need to have an electrician make repairs to your equipment first before contacting MGE to restore your service. If any of these items are damaged, DO NOT inspect yourself as the equipment may be energized. Call a qualified electrician to fix them immediately. MGE crews cannot repair customer equipment.

You should never connect a generator directly to your home's wiring. Power from a generator connected to a home's wiring will "back feed" into utility lines, potentially severely injuring or killing a neighbor or utility crew working to restore service. Instead, it's recommended to plug appliances directly into the generator's outlet. You should use a heavy-duty extension cord rated for outdoor use to keep the generator safely outdoors. If the appliance has a three-prong plug, always use a three-prong extension cord. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for grounding the generator.

If you do want to connect a generator to your house wiring, hire a licensed electrician to make the connection using a UL-listed transfer switch. The transfer switch will safely prevent your generator from back feeding into utility lines.

A lengthy outage in the summer requires you to take extra precautions to cope with the heat. Hot weather can place a dangerous strain on your body, especially your heart. Prescription drugs for high blood pressure, nervousness, depression, poor circulation or insomnia may make you more vulnerable to the heat. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking medicine for any of these conditions.

As the temperature rises in your home, you may be at a higher risk for developing hyperthermia. This means that your body temperature has increased from being exposed to the heat. The best way to prevent hyperthermia is to stay cool.

During a lengthy outage, you should take extra precautions to preserve food in your refrigerator and freezer. MGE is not responsible for any loss of food you might experience. Learn how to keep your food safe during an outage.

I called them and they wouldn't or couldn't enter a report for a downed/hanging wire without also entering an account #... I dug up my account# and gave it to them but then they couldn't find it - transferred me twice w/out and further success or help.

After getting transferred twice and 20 minutes I gave up and tried going through the cities report submission site.

Does anyone know or have an opinion on what is the appropriate/official way to report downed wires so that they are actually taken care of?

That's for ratting out your neighbor when they put out space savers or don't have their resident parking sticker properly displayed, or for reporting when the city does not what we pay taxes for.

Call 911 for downed wires.

I believe Eversource (800-592-2000) is the power supplier in Boston, not National Grid. I would follow the prompts for "electrical problem/life threatening emergency" since all downed wires should be considered "live" until a determination is made.

Remember the good old days when the gas company was Boston Gas and the electric company was Boston Edison? I can never remember that National Grid is actually my gas provider, when they sure as hell sound like an electricity company (I know that they are just that in other locations.)

But remember the oddity that National Grid covers electric in Hyde Park, because when all of this was being set up Hyde Park was its own town.. Or it's the other way around. Even though I'm the one who pays the utility bills each month, I still get confused between the two of them.

Call 911, which will get the FD out to asses the wire(s). If you're lucky and it's only phone or cable, they'll coil the wires safely out of the way, and notify the provider(s). If they're power lines, they'll caution tape the area and notify DPW and the appropriate power company.

Go to Eversource.com, from the "I want to..." drop-down menu, click "Report / check an outage". It should prompt you to enter either the account # OR the phone # associated with the account for your residence-- I always enter the phone, because I can never remember my account number-- and then when you report the outage click on the button for "I have additional information to report" and it'll give you some choices including downed wires / poles.

Call the Mayors office. I was once in a battle with Verizon when a wire was hanging down into my yard. They said they'd send someone and never did. After waiting a few days I called again and i got the run-around. I waited and called again. Same deal.

After a week of them ignoring me I told them I was going to cut it and they said that was illegal. I said it was illegal for them having this wire go through my yard (I could have used it as a clothes line it was so low). I then called the Mayors office. They were out that same day:)

With high winds in the L.A. area, the City wants to remind you to never touch a downed or dangling wire no matter how small, or anyone, or anything in contact with it. Always assume a downed wire is still energized with high voltage electricity. Stay away, and immediately call 9-1-1!

I'm a FORMER customer. The line DirecTV installed at my home detached from the utility poles and is hanging in the backyards of two homes. It is perceived to be a danger (not sure if it is). When I called DirecTV (Philippines office took the call), I was told, basically, tough luck. Given that I paid for the installation/service when I signed up -- I shouldn't have to pay for it to be removed/fixed as well. Interestingly, the phone line from decades ago hasn't fallen, neither has the electrical line. It seems that the DirecTV installer just didn't do a good job securing the wire. When I've reached DirecTV via social media (since the call center is terrible), I have gotten a link to report the downed line, but when I call the phone number provided I'm told that's only for AT&T PHONE lines.

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