Electricity and power poles

[Susan]

Having spoken to HELCO engineering early this week I find my SSPP is paid in full and all I need is to sign up as a new customer online.

There's one thing missing. Poles and such. I found info on HELCO's site related to specs for temporary tie in and engineering type drawings for meters and tie in to building.

What I have not been able to find is the the maximum allowable distance between poles from the street into property. I have seen various threads stating 100ft and also 150 ft or more.

The street pole is within feet of my front right pin.

Having property 730 ft deep and no plan to electrify anything in the first 250-300 ft of the lot how do you figure out how many metal poles you need?

Do you need a permit just to put poles in? According to previous threads it's cost prohibitive to have HELCO install the poles and metal poles are less expensive.
[?]

[John S. Rabi]

I had to put in one pole at one of my LE houses I built. You need one pole for every 150 feet and while you can put the pole in yourself HELCO will inspect it.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,PB,ABR,CRB,CM,FHS
888.819.9669
johnrabi@johnrabi.com
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"
(This is what I think of the Kona Board of Realtors http://KonaBoardOfRealtors.info)

[mac nut]

I had helco put in one pole for me and it was 1200 dollars including running the wire. I thought it was reaonable as they have to drill into the lava and supplied everything.

Mac nut

[TrevorKane]

FPL (Florida) told us one pole per 300' for a 2000'+ run we were considering, 7 poles in all - $1000 per pole going into soft sand. This was in somewhat thick woods - we asked them if there was service on the property, they said they'd check the drawings and get back to us in a couple of days. 2 weeks later they called back and told us "no, checked the drawings, there's no power on that property line." I said "we were out there last Saturday with machetes and we found poles with wire and transformers on them." They replied with "let me check the drawings again and I'll get back to you." Two days later, they called back and "found" those poles and transformers we saw.

I imagine the longer spacing only works when the wire is in fairly high tension - might be practical for long runs, but not when you're talking about a decision between 1 or 2 poles.

[jerry]

Assuming a 100 amp service, you can go 140' from the Helco wires to the first pole. But Helco likes it better if you keep it under 100'. The Helco field engineer for the area (not the ones in the office) make the call. It varies slightly between subdivisions based on how far apart the Helco poles are.

If you want to attach phone lines, the first pole has to be a 6" galvanized pole. After that you can use 4" poles. Poles can be placed 140' or so apart, closer for heavier gauge wire. You can usually get pole installed for about $800 each. The first pole gets the meter and becomes your "temporary/permanent" service. It requires both a county and Helco inspection so you will need an electrical permit to get the county inspection. The triplex wire is about $1.50 a foot but with a long distance you may need a heavier gauge for voltage drop and the price will go up. Plus installation and other parts. It starts to get expensive--$15,000 is not out of the question.

When the new electric and building codes get passed you will have to use quadplex instead of triplex wire at an unknown extra cost. So get your permits in soon!

I spoke with one of the Helco engineers a week or so ago and he said he thought they were charging between 2,000 and 3,000 for Helco to install poles and wires. In that case the meter can go on the house but then you would not have the expense for wire and installation.

Call if you have additional questions.


Jerry
Art and Orchids B&B
http://www.artandorchids.com

[Wao nahele kane]

Susan,
Try this PDF file from Helco. It will answer your questions, provide the proper safety protocalls and provide alternative run methods. Not sure what the costs are for pole installation but underground service via counduit maybe another alternative.

http://www.heco.com/vcmcontent/Energy%20...manual.pdf


E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Susan]

Thanks everyone! I must have stopped short of finding the in depth pdf. on Helco's site.

I hate these price differences. $1200.00 for MacNut, 1000.00 per pole for TrevorKane and 2-3K per pole based on Jerry's conversation with Helco. I suppose it depends on "when" also. I am sure the prices have done nothing but go up over the years.

Jerry, I may send you an email via your B&B later on today.

[pslamont]

We went underground but we are on soil, not lava rock. It was still incredibly pricey. I am not sad we did it but I don't think we would have if we were on lava. There are no simple answers dealing with Helco that I can see, but I know that Jerry Gardner knows his stuff.

Pam

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[Cagary]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pslamont

We went underground but we are on soil, not lava rock. It was still incredibly pricey. I am not sad we did it but I don't think we would have if we were on lava. There are no simple answers dealing with Helco that I can see, but I know that Jerry Gardner knows his stuff.

Pam

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

Pam,

Since there are no poles involved with going underground, did they charge you per foot? How much was it in soil?

Thanks!

---

[lquade]

hi susan, i was quoted 3000 per pole from helco in october so went with the metal poles. i agree there doesnt seem to be any consistent answers. jerry had my poles installed, the first one is huge the second one smaller in diameter but will qualify if i want a land phone line.. if you are trying to budget you might have to forget helco, it seems the true cost comes with the bill....