You are currently browsing the Gas & Diesel Generators weblog archives for the day 10. April 2008.
10. April 2008 by admin.
Numerous Black School Road residents in the Woodville area are fuming after a power surge caused explosions in their homes last week, causing, they say, thousands of dollars in damage to their electronics.
On the morning of April 1, a heavy windstorm hit the area, causing several power outages.
By Friday, Bruce Jensen, who lives near White Rock Road, had compiled a list of neighbours that included at least 11 names.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I lost a computer, one TV, another TV that’s not working properly now, my cable boxes and a stereo system. I’m not sure of the exact dollar figure yet. And, I’ve talked to several other people and we’re looking at a lot of stuff that’s been ruined, especially our computers.”
Mr. Jensen said he’s furious that if he puts a claim through his insurance company, he must pay a $500 deductible, his deductible will also go up and he will lose his ‘no-claim’ discount.
“So, I lose three ways,” he said. “And, it’s Hydro One’s fault, not mine.”
Mr. Jensen said he heard a large bang while working on his computer in his bedroom on Tuesday.
“It was an explosion; it sounded like a gunshot,” he said. “And, everything shut down, in my kitchen and living room, too.”
He said he can’t understand how such a power surge can get through trip boxes on the hydro poles, then through his his electric panel breaker system, and through surge protectors.
“And, what about the fire risk?” he asked.
He said he called Hydro One, who directed him to Quelmec Insurance, the company he was told Hydro One deals with.
“They said they could send a claim form and it could take 30 to 60 days before anyone followed up,” he said. “But, they aren’t making any promises to cover the damage.”
He added a similar incident happened last August, affecting almost as many people in the same area.
“We have farmers around here, and seniors,” he said. “(On Tuesday) their generators and water treatment systems were blown. What gets me is when this happened before, the claims were denied. How does Hydro One justify denying the claims when this has happened to so many people.?”
Another resident, Ross Mulock, said he lost about $1,100 worth of appliances last August, and estimates that Tuesday’s surge cost him a $2,000 computer.
“Some of our surge protectors worked and some didn’t,” he said. “It was so powerful it blew one of my surge protectors up and blackened the floor. We heard four explosions in different rooms in the house.”
Mr. Mulock said he believes Hydro One should be responsible for his loss, which also included a TV, VCR and a microwave.
Daniele Gauvin, a public relations officer for Hydro One, said the company’s conditions of service clearly state they are not responsible for ‘acts of God’ and cannot guarantee uninterrupted power at all times. Nor can they be held responsible for power surges.
But, she did say that customer satisfaction is a priority, and Quelmec, as Hydro One’s insurance company, “is fully authorized to determine” the circumstances of the incident, and make decisions for the affected customers on a case-by-case basis, including paying any claims.
“If a claim is denied, there is also the opportunity for a second opinion,” she said.
“The insurance investigator can also determine if there is any negligence on the part of [Hydro One] equipment. We have had several calls about this incident and the insurance investigators are determining what happened. Many of the customers have already contacted Quelmec, and the process is the same for everyone.”
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10. April 2008 by admin.
REGINA — Thousands of Regina households and businesses were left in the dark just before supper time on Thursday.
Around 5:35 p.m., the power went out for an estimated 20,000 SaskPower customers in the downtown and east end of Regina.
SaskPower spokesman Larry Christie said service was lost at the Fleet Street substation, located by the provincial jail, and also at the Broad Street substation.
“I’m informed that grid control is having trouble with a transformer in a switching station right beside the Fleet Street sub(station).
“The transformer was acting up and kicking off the substation so they have bypassed and taken that piece of equipment out of service,” explained Christie on Thursday evening.
Half the affected customers had service resume around 5:50 p.m. The remainder were expected to have power shortly after 6 p.m.
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10. April 2008 by admin.
www.AuroraGenerators.com - Ontario Gas and Diesel Generators
The Ontario Superior Court has held up two exclusions in an “all-risks” commercial policy, according to which Lombard General Insurance denied coverage for a business interruption claim made by companies that lost frozen food after a power blackout.
Leo Deluca Enterprises Ltd. and Koolini’s Italian Cuisini Inc. brought a claim against Lombard after a 2003 hydro blackout.
The companies claimed a loss of Cdn$50,000 for the loss of frozen food and Cdn$4,600 for business interruption, after Koolini’s was closed for one day following the blackout.
Lombard denied the claim, noting two exclusions in the commercial insurance policy.
Paragraph 7(b)(5) of the policy “does not insure against loss or damage caused directly or indirectly…by…changes in temperature.”
The second exclusion, in Paragraph 7(b)(4) of the policy, “does not insure against loss or damage caused directly or indirectly…by…mechanical or electrical breakdown or derangement in or on the premises.”
The plaintiffs argued the temperature change exclusion was limited to natural events and did not include temperature changes due to equipment failure (i.e. due to power failure).
The court rejected this argument, noting the Supreme Court did not restrict such an exclusion to natural events.
Also, the plaintiffs argued the “derangement” exclusion applied only to some defect intrinsic to the equipment. It did not, in other words, exclude all situations in which the equipment did not act normally (i.e. loss of power during a hydro failure).
Again, the court rejected the argument, noting previous case law in which the interpretation of the word derangement contained “no suggestion that coverage is limited to derangement occasioned by any particular cause or causes.”
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10. April 2008 by admin.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –
Florida Power & Light will need to increase electricity production by 25 percent over the next decade to meet rising demand, the company said Tuesday.In a document outlining its plans for the next 10 years filed with state regulators, the state’s largest electric company said it expects to have more than 5 million customers by 2017. Electricity usage will also increase by 16 percent for each residential customer by then.
FPL plans to build new nuclear generators at its Turkey Point facility south of Miami and to upgrade existing nuclear generators there and in St. Lucie County to deal with the growth.
The company said it also plans to aggressively pursue alternative sources of energy, including solar power, and is also seeking to build a new natural gas generator at a plant in Palm Beach County.
The state’s second largest electric company, St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy Florida, also filed an outline of its plans over the next decade with the Public Service Commission Tuesday. It said it will seek to build a new natural gas generating unit at its existing plant in Suwannee County in north Florida.
The new generator, if it goes forward, would replace three 1950s era oil-buring plants at the Suwannee County facility in an effort to lower emissions and improve efficiency, the company said.
Progress said previously it wants to build two new nuclear generators that would start running in 2016 and 2017. The natural gas plant would be ready sooner, likely in 2013.
Progress serves 1.7 million Florida customers.
FPL serves 4.5 million Florida customers in 35 counties.
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