Kiwi homeowner felled tree on 33Kv powerline

Eric Frei · 21st December 2010, 08:19 AM

Close call and what else would you expect a kiwi landowner to be other than sheepish?

Tree felling causes major Napier power cut - Local News - Hawke's Bay Today

Quote:

21st December 2010

A tree felled on a 33,000-volt powerline caused 21,000 Napier households to lose power yesterday morning.

Unison Networks said a landowner was felling trees on a property in Springfield Rd when one came in contact with the line at 9.30am.

"That tripped the Springfield Rd substation and all its customers lost power," Unison customer relations manager Danny Gough said.

About 21,000 customers lost power but about 8600 were reconnected within 15 minutes, Mr Gough said. Power was restored to all customers by 10.30am. Unison would investigate the outage, including potential repercussions for the landowner.

Mr Gough said the landowner had been asked by Unison to trim the trees as they were too close to the lines.

"The landowner thought he could do it himself and just went about it, and we've seen the results of that." He said the man was lucky not to have been hurt.

Claire Tippett from Taradale Paper Plus said power was lost for an hour during a busy shopping time. "It wasn't easy to cope with but we managed - we just had to put through a lot of manual transactions," she said.

Traffic lights were out during the power cut but police said no serious incidents were reported.

Most parts of suburban Napier were affected but shops and businesses in the central city, served by a different substation, were not affected, though some reported lights flickering briefly at 9.30am.

Ahuriri, Westshore and the Port of Napier were also unaffected.

The power cut also left Vodafone cellphone customers without coverage for an hour.

Lucky feller cuts electricity to 21,000 properties... | Stuff.co.nz

Quote:

A man who blacked out more than 21,000 Napier properties by cutting down a tree near power lines could become a sort of reverse poster boy for safety.

The Unison lines company had the power back on to all the affected properties within an hour of the outage yesterday morning. The cut was caused by a property owner in rural Springfield Rd, near the Springfield substation just outside Taradale. He was cutting down some of his trees – at the request of Unison, because they had grown too close to 33kV power lines.

Customer relations manager Danny Gough said the falling tree made two of the lines touch each other, causing the substation to trip out. The man was fortunate to escape without getting a severe electrical shock.

"We prefer people to engage professionals for these jobs," Mr Gough said. "He thought he could do it himself – and he couldn't.

"He's in a bit of a state of shock; he knows he was very lucky. He's very apologetic and a bit sheepish.

"He was clearly not equipped for the job, and he was not carrying out the regulatory requirements."

Different authorities could have brought charges against the man, who is in his fifties, but Mr Gough said Unison was looking at working with him to try to stop other people doing what he had done.

Publicity about his narrow escape could help bring home the message that it was dangerous to work on trees near power lines, especially high-voltage lines.

"There's a lesson here," Mr Gough said. "We spend a lot of money advising people of the dangers of electricity, and vegetation is a large part of it."

Brent Ferris · 28th December 2010, 12:03 AM

I have to wonder if the trees were so close to the power lines, why the utility didn't just drop the trees for him, and let him clean them up. It would be "lucky" for him to not have charges brought, but "lucky" to be singled out publicly as what not to do? Not many people want such fame and publicity. Might well backfire on the utility.

Treeson · 28th December 2010, 10:21 AM

Haha good on him. giving it the ol "She'l be right mate!" kiwi attitude.
I know numerous people back home in NZ that would do the same thing.
It's just too hard to admit defeat and call in the professionals sometimes!

Apocalypsse · 31st December 2010, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treeshaveneeds

I have to wonder if the trees were so close to the power lines, why the utility didn't just drop the trees for him, and let him clean them up. It would be "lucky" for him to not have charges brought, but "lucky" to be singled out publicly as what not to do? Not many people want such fame and publicity. Might well backfire on the utility.

Maybe he didn't know the power company offered that service.

KiwiBro · 5th January 2011, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypsse

Maybe he didn't know the power company offered that service.

The power company, with all that media exposure, lost an opportunity to let the public know they offer such a service (if they actually do - all I could find on their website was "Our staff are specially trained to work in a potentially hazardous environment....". If Unison do offer such a service, theirs was not the smartest use of free media exposure, although I'm sure the local tree guys will be pleased Unison left the door open for them.

REJ2 · 10th January 2011, 06:37 AM

In my little part of the world, Kansas, the utility companies would never tell the homeowner to trim trees affecting their power lines. In fact the utilities actively monitor and control trees in the right of ways when they begin to get out of hand. REJ2

Apocalypsse · 10th January 2011, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REJ2

In my little part of the world, Kansas, the utility companies would never tell the homeowner to trim trees affecting their power lines. In fact the utilities actively monitor and control trees in the right of ways when they begin to get out of hand. REJ2

Its the same here, for the most part. Occasionally an inspector from the power company will go around and tell people they need to have their service wire cleared or someone will come >hack< it for them.

28th December 2010, 12:03 AM	#2
Brent Ferris Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,557	Re: Kiwi homeowner felled tree on 33Kv powerline I have to wonder if the trees were so close to the power lines, why the utility didn't just drop the trees for him, and let him clean them up. It would be "lucky" for him to not have charges brought, but "lucky" to be singled out publicly as what not to do? Not many people want such fame and publicity. Might well backfire on the utility. __________________ My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports Consulting Forester If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too ! We do great jobs, even in small yards. Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered) Email -- treeshaveneeds@3web.com Cell 416-460-5704

28th December 2010, 10:21 AM	#3
Treeson Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 176	Re: Kiwi homeowner felled tree on 33Kv powerline Haha good on him. giving it the ol "She'l be right mate!" kiwi attitude. I know numerous people back home in NZ that would do the same thing. It's just too hard to admit defeat and call in the professionals sometimes!

10th January 2011, 06:37 AM	#6
REJ2 Sappling Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: kansas Posts: 28	Re: Kiwi homeowner felled tree on 33Kv powerline In my little part of the world, Kansas, the utility companies would never tell the homeowner to trim trees affecting their power lines. In fact the utilities actively monitor and control trees in the right of ways when they begin to get out of hand. REJ2

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