FirstEnergy, WH lauded for dialogue

When severe storms with powerful winds batter our region, it's not uncommon to see lengthy power outages that disrupt residents' lives.

People affected by these outages often become irritated or even angry if they lose electrical power for extended stretches of time. Often, they pin the blame on FirstEnergy for not being able to restore power more quickly, or failing to take pre-emptive action that they believe could prevent power outages during major snowstorms or thunderstorms.

However, many of the same people who complain never get to hear from FirstEnergy about the causes of widespread electric disruptions in the midst of storms, and what steps the utility takes to protect their power lines from storm damage.

Since we value the importance of open communication, it pleased us to learn about a recent meeting involving Willoughby Hills government leaders and a FirstEnergy official on power outages on the east side of that city.

Wendy Zele, FirstEnergy’s regional external affairs consultant for the city, reviewed the causes of outages during 2020 and 2021 to date, the company’s preventative maintenance procedures in the city, and what FirstEnergy, the city and its residents can do to attempt to minimize future outages.

Almost all significant outages in the city in the past two years have been the result of storms damaging trees outside of the FirstEnergy right of way.

The trees fall and break or damage distribution equipment, wires and poles within the FirstEnergy right of way, Mayor Andy Gardner said.

Of eight outages, all but three were caused by damage resulting from trees falling from outside the FirstEnergy right of way.

Gardner said FirstEnergy has been diligently working to curtail these outages. Since February 2020, the company has completed the following upgrades and preventative maintenance actions in Willoughby Hills:

• A full circuit patrol where they physically walk the lines.

• A forestry patrol and tree trimming of all electric rights of way in the city. That is 10 inches on either side of their distribution lines, which are typically the highest set of lines on the utility poles with cable, telephone and other communication lines lower on the poles.

• Pole inspections through the city as required by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

• Additional forestry patrols and tree trimming on the east side of the city at the request of city representatives.

To help lower the number of power outages, FirstEnergy stated it will continue to monitor their network performance and reliability to look for potential improvements, especially during the high-demand summer months.

In addition, it will help educate residents, add more forestry patrols, install a new transformer, evaluate installation of additional re-routing equipment and have continued communication with the city.

For residents wanting to help, they are encouraged to report all outages directly to FirstEnergy at 888-544-4877. They should not call city hall or 911.

They also may review the vegetation guidelines and exercise as much preventative maintenance as possible with any dead, rotting or other trees that may threaten to fall. The line coming from the right of way across a resident’s property to their home is their responsibility. The guidelines provide a list of contractors who can safely work near power lines.

Residents also may advise the city and FirstEnergy of any trees that appear to be threatening FirstEnergy equipment, wires or poles. For residents in need of electricity for medical purposes, the resident may want to consider the purchase of a generator and/or battery backup.

“We will continue to keep residents apprised as we work with FirstEnergy for improvement,” Gardner said.

The News-Herald commends Willoughby Hills government leaders and FirstEnergy for wanting to continue conversations about preventative measures that could help reduce the problems that storm-related power outages cause.

And we’re pleased to know about the city’s desire to update residents about relevant information that is learned during their discussions.

So we’ll close by urging Willoughby Hills, its residents and FirstEnergy to continue communicating openly and honestly on the subject of stormrelated power outages.

Of eight outages, all but three were caused by damage resulting from trees falling...