Submitted by Sandi_T t3_10mzduw in newhampshire
I just wanted to say it. Thanks to everyone who had to work outside in that mess to help get our power back up. Two nasty storms back-to-back with very heavy snow and a lot of damage throughout the state.
The last big storm we had,, I came home to no power. At 2 am I was awoken by the sound of my furnace kicking, which on any other night would have infuriated me (being awoken at 2 am and all), but in the instant my mind registered my heat was on. I immediately thought of the amazing people who had been at work for hours before that moment to get that heat back into my home.
Thank you.
Thank you! Appreciate the sentiment.
Well done!
I have friends that did this stuff for years.
While its tough work and I am thankful for those that do it, they get paid beyond well. As it's almost always OT and Nights etc. They typically get like 3-4x their standard hourly rate. And that is for the entire time they are away from home (this includes the overnight stays).
Its one of the only things that pays properly these days.
They deserve the high pay, great benefits and regulations that keep them safe in a dangerous job.
It’s the union that keeps it going.
My husband and I are in the industry. The linemen are really hard workers and deserve all the appreciation they get.
I totally agree.
I was without power and water for a few days. I decided to spoil myself one of the nights and bask in the luxury that is the Holiday Inn Express. I was studying in the lobby close to midnight when dozens of linemen started rolling in from in- and out-of-state. Poor dudes looked wiped! But let me tell you, those guys party just as hard as they work. You could hear them raging from the elevator shaft 🤙🏻. Then they were back on the road at 6am to do it again. Moral of the story is that if you ever stay in a hotel during a power outage, have some beer on hand for our boys in fluorescent yellow.
Is there any way to tip them like a GoFundMe? I appreciate their work in miserable weather.
Being without power for 2 days was a real eye opener. Made me realize I need to prepare better. Was around 45 degrees in my house. Had to sleep with 4 comforters on me. I have a well too so no power no water. I have 2 pellet stoves I use to keep the house warm. Going to get a generator so I can power the wood stoves and the well pump a minimum. Any suggestions for better prepping?
They shouldn’t have to be out there so often.
Make your power company accountable for their botched maintenance.
Yes, and also make your friends/family/neighbors accountable by telling them not to put up a massive stink if the power company wants to trim their trees that are about to topple over on the lines.
Was literally out on Monday during storm, trimming things that were all up in primary and home owners still coming out saying “who told you, you could do that? I’m calling the cops.” Bro I’ve got a detail right up the road turning traffic around go right ahead!
Wanna tell the Reddit community what you said to me before you deleted it???
You said. "Yea I bet. I laugh every time one of you bucket retards gets fried" .
We love the overtime. 😉
[deleted]
That's the problem with private utilities, they're incentivised to let things fail.
How do you figure that?
Gives them an excuse to raise rates with all the labor they hire for a couple days. Get goodwill from getting the power back on (even if it shouldn't have gone out). And the way a lot of them run, they get extra money to build new things but nothing to fix or maintain.
Those are extremely valid points. Thanks for the response
You mean the rates that are all submitted to and approved by the PUC?
Or do you mean the recently increased rates that have nothing to do with the maintenance of the grid, and only apply to the supply of energy?
Or we have public utilities that try to make the best system possible for the people, with no profit motive at all.
It’s the job they picked. And they make huge OT. Those guys work hard. But we need to crack down on utilities not doing maintenance. The storm before Christmas the tree service had marked the tree that killed my power. But eversource is crying poverty that they can’t afford to cut all these trees.
Nobody's stopping you and the other people complaning about eversource from starting your own post. Do you people really think that the average Joe or Jane or Jordan working on the street has the power or authority to make the changes you want? Do you think the CEO of ES reads reddit?
If you and u/Most_Expert_8080 really care so much, go do something about it in person, don't whine on Reddit in an appreciation post.
Read the room, FFS.
_tjb t1_j66cdz6 wrote
Good friend of mine is a lineman for EverSource. He’s out there for long hours in the worst of it every time. We make it a point to pray for him to get home safely to his family. Take your time, follow the safety rules, wear your gear, do it right. Sit in the truck to warm up whenever you need to. Those guys are a different breed.