Helco Question: Main line to house repair

[redefinehappy]

I was wondering if anyone else has had to deal with the Helco lines being ripped from their house due to a fallen tree, etc? If so, did Helco reattach the line to your home or did you have to set up an appointment with an electrician and have them fix it once the main line was repaired?




Cheers
-Allison

I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov

[Andrew]

You need to contact Helco who will perform repairs from street to house including attaching to house. Don't assume they will do it automatically when they come to your area. You need to contact them asap and get your name on the list. Have your customer account number handy when calling them. The customer id number will be on an old bill.

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[redefinehappy]

Thanks for the info, Andrew. I called them a few days ago to ask about it and let them know that our house was without power, just to have it on the record. The lady I spoke to was very nice but wasn't sure if they'd do the repair or if we'd need an electrician. Today I received a call back and the lady updated me that it would be 1-2 weeks before Nanawale was up and running, at least parts of it. She also said I needed to contact an electrician and schedule them to fix the line from the road to the house. She stopped herself and said "well, you can't really schedule that if you don't know when they'll have your line fixed". But then continued on with the line that the electrician would need to be hired to fix it.

I think I'll give it a few more days and call again and confirm we're on the "fix it" list you mentioned, Andrew. I'm sure that everyone is going more than a little crazy and misinformation tends to grow during times like this. Much appreciation for your reply.

Cheers
-Allison

I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov

[Rob Tucker]

To the best of my knowledge Helco owns all the wire to the top of the meter.

[Chunkster]

quote:

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Originally posted by redefinehappy

I was wondering if anyone else has had to deal with the Helco lines being ripped from their house due to a fallen tree, etc? If so, did Helco reattach the line to your home or did you have to set up an appointment with an electrician and have them fix it once the main line was repaired?

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We have a similar situation and were told that we had to get an electrician to fix it. While he was still working on it, they restored power to everyone on our street except us. The Helco crew told us to call their office when we had it finished, and they would get someone to turn us back on within half an hour. The electrician finished an hour later, and we called the Helco trouble desk. That was three days and four phone calls ago. Every time we call, they tell us something different. One agent said someone would be out that day, but no one came. The latest is that they can't send a crew for one home when whole neighborhoods are still out. So we are still in the dark, and I am doing this from town.

[Guest]

As a general rule, HELCO is responsible for the line from the point of main line tie in to the meter.

The homeowner then is responsible from the meter to the house.

[Tink]

You are responsible for the meter main box, and the mast, weather head and conductors to the point they hookup, or where you see the butt connectors. Once they set meter, they extend claim rights to the meter point so you can not tap the conductors, but you are still responsible for the maintenence. They will not hook up until meter and mast are intact and in good condition, sometimes a building department or electrician sign off is needed, depends if they surveyed your house or not. If so, follow their directive.

Community begins with Aloha

[redefinehappy]

Mahalo for everyone's input! It looks like the best option is to call them next week and ask for a confirmation that they will rehook us up from the main line to the house (all the couplings look intact, nothing was ripped from the house). Hopefully it just means a bit of their magic and all will be well again. Very useful information now due to the storm and in the future, in case our neighbors won't finish the tree-toppling job the storm started...

We aren't in any hurry as we were lucky to not have major damage to house or yard (several blocks of our street look like someone started playing pick-up sticks then lost interest and left without cleaning up). We know there are many, MANY people in our neighborhood that need their power back much more than we do; those with medical needs and families. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the bus on what to do once power does come back around.


Cheers
-Allison

I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov

[kander]

If the stand pipe and hood have been ripped from your house or damage to meter panel you will have to have an electrician fix it, Helco will then be able to restore power to your house. helco does not fix the homeowners electrical conduits, breaker boxes or meter panels. just a fyi.