PG&E To The Rescue

Perhaps you've heard stories about service interruptions, or increasing energy rates ... but this is definitely NOT one of these stories.

This is about the OUTSTANDING service I received from a PG&E electric linesman crew that operates out of the Oakdale, CA office.

The mission was challenging, take down an existing overhead electric service drop running through a tree, and install a new 400 Amp service drop through another tree, all while trying to navigate through an orchard.

Lets pile on the fact this all had to take place in 3-4 hours, since I needed time to connect the new servie drop to my electric sub-panel inside the house.

When three large trucks rolled up my driveway, I immediately knew this was going to be an ordeal. Out steps a gentleman who's name escapes me at the moment, and advises they're going to get right to work. Here's a picture, if you ever have a chance to meet him, I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was.

And get right to work they did, including dropping the old service wires, hooking up the new service:

Replacing the transformers (newer and larger transformers were required due to the size of the service):

Replacing the pole upper cross member (they didn't find until they got up the pole that the old one was rotted):

Installing new insulators:

It's always amazing to me to watch linesmen climb a pole to work:

And for me the most impressive part of the whole job was watching the way this crew worked as a team. It was not uncommon to see three guys working near the top of the pole all at the same time, while a fourth person was at the bottom coordinating the work and supplying a stream of material up to the crew members:

I'm a general contractor, and an engineer, and I frankly don't get that impressed all that much. On this day I was VERY impressed. I like to think of myself as being pretty handy, but these are real guys doing real work, and the skill level with which they performed their job was very impressive.

I'd like to thank PG&E for doing an outstanding job, and let everyone know that sometimes things we don't understand or take for granted should be a little more fully analyzed before laying out any criticism.

I know it's easy to get pissed off at PG&E when your power goes out, but this is just one of those jobs where nothing less that 100% is acceptable to the public. I think thats an unreasonable proposition to try and satisfy, but its very rewarding to see people like this try none the less to make it happen.

You won't hear me moaning about PG&E's service based on what I experienced today. I think sometimes we just need to see things with our own eyes to fully understand the situation. Today I saw ... and today I understand just how much I appreciate having real guys like this around to help bring power to my house.

Awesome job, and a sincere THANK YOU to everyone involved. I'd also like to thank Sue Moller at the PG&E Oakdale office for helping solve my problem. I really dropped a load on her, and she came through in a huge way! Without her, none of this would have been possible.

Here's a few more pictures of the job:

The lasting impression I have is just how much we depend on electricity as a daily necessity. Until we figure out a way to generate power domestically, I think we are avoiding the bigger issue going forward. And when we finally do address the issue with alternatives such as solar energy, it will be people just like this who help make it happen. They literally are a huge component in the future of California, and I'm glad to have had a chance to watch them work.

Regards, Jeff Bond