We live plugged in, and for many of us in New England we have been painfully aware of just how much we depend on power. The number of those without power drops daily, but not fast enough for those who are still without.
Watching the news since the storm, the tone shifts from one of commenting on the sheer volume of those without power to questioning CL&P about their effectiveness. I cannot blame the public for their frustration. I was lucky as I had a place to go, many others either did not, or could not leave. Thankfully the days brought us warmer temperatures, but the nights were cold. We are not prepared to live without power, certainly it stressed people out.
The talk of more aggressive tree trimming is all over the news too. More aggressive tree trimming will translate to a higher electric bill. I am no dummy. Connecticut is one of the most forested states by the way, according to State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
"Even though Connecticut is one of the nation's most densely populated states, it is also one of the most heavily forested - nearly 60% of our landbase is in forest. Of that 1.8 million forested acres, a full 95% is owned by private forest landowners - individuals, families, land trusts, municipalities and industries." (from the State of CT DEP website)
View Larger Map
(map of New Milford, look at all those TREES!)
As I drive around it is obvious that even those who do not own a forest or a large tract of land have trees planted too close to the power lines. Either put there on purpose by the home owner or Mother Nature, or by Nutsy the Squirrel, these trees are clearly on private property. If Connecticut Light & Power is solely responsible for the tree trimming of these privately owned trees, the consumer pays the price for the trimming at the end of the day with higher utility rates. There is no way around that. And we do complain about the high cost of electricity!
Some will say that if we bury the power lines it will fix everything. It may solve the problem of trees falling on power lines, but at the end of the day, it will still cost the consumer to do so. I would love to see power lines buried, for purely aesthetic reasons, they often get in the way of my photography!
There is no easy solution. I do not know if CL&P was at fault for taking too long to restore power. The numbers were mind numbing of just how many people were without power, I couldn't imagine how they would get it done quickly. Especially as I drove around and saw entire trees down that took down lines, limbs entangled in the lines, etc. The one theme that resonated in my head over and over again as I witnessed the damage was one of more responsible tree maintenance by the homeowner and municipalities.
This is certainly a topic we will wrestle with for the foreseeable future. Looking for someone to blame will not solve the problem, coming together with the power company and working towards a more responsible tree maintenance and planting program will go a long way to solving this very complex issue that our love of trees has caused us. As I watch the news, Governor Malloy and CT Attorney General Jepsen are poised for attack against Connecticut Light & Power. I am not happy about this, spend the resources to solve the problem, which is a very complex one indeed. I think there is enough blame to go around. But the cost.... well... we know that it will cost the consumer at the end of the day. I can say one thing for sure, it wasn't MY tree that fell on that power line!
But to answer my initial question, who is the most important person in CT right now?
THE TREE WARDEN!
Andrea Swiedler, Realtor® & Liddy Adams, GRI, Broker Associate
Cell: 203.460.1775 Email: andrea@andreaswiedler.com
Swiedler & Adams, we know real estate!
Prudential Connecticut Realty, New Milford & Litchfield, CT
Swiedler & Adams
Call us at 203.460.1775
© Andrea Swiedler, 2009 - 2012
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain
It was amazing how many tree limbs, trees and branches were down here in PA. Did not know that Connecticut was so heavily forested. Have a great day Andrea.
Cal
CL&P are doing an excellent job, with so many tree's in Ct it is just part of life here. We should be happy to live in such a great state and country and stop our complaining.
Good morning, Andrea....I can certainly appreciate this post....there is nothing worse than being without power for days.....this is the first time I've experienced that situation and if tree cutting resolves the problem, cut 'em all....raise the rates and let's stay warm...suggested....
Cal, I know there were many other states affected, and it was so difficult. Yes, we love our trees here in CT, and we have paid the price for it, twice in this year alone. You have a wonderful day too!
David, I think we all have to examine our tree plantings here, and accept the fact that if we had made laws a long time ago, this would not have happened. As bad.... Yes, I for one am not complaining. Or perhaps it is you and I that are not complaining?
Barbara, thank you! Yes, MA suffered too. For the same reason, your love of trees. We have not been responsible in this arena. We love our trees so much there are attorneys who specialize in tree law! I would gladly keep the power lines free of trees if it would solve the problem, but I tend to see things in simple terms, LOL.
Hi Andrea - As someone who is still without power, I think that changes need to be made to the entire system. There is a lot of finger-pointing these days, but business as usual will not work. We need to learn from other states that have done a better job of making sure that power outages are not a frequent thing. I lost power for 5 days from Irene and now going on 6 for this one--within a 3 month span. We need more underground utilities which will be expensive, but isn't this debacle expensive? Oh, don't get me started!
Andrea...
My brother still does not have power. He said it could be on Monday. This storm was a catastrophe that could be avoided with some investment in getting trees and power lines separated.
Andrea - I'm with you, those power lines are terrible for aesthetic reasons aside from their vulnerability. The state should have required power lines to be buried from the time that technology was available. Did you know Connecticut is the second most heavily forested state in the nation (after Maine)?
Andrea, I have experienced many power outages in the past 14 years. I live in the country, when the power goes out, the well and the septic are also affected. As a result, my emergency preparedness plan includes a propane fireplace for heat, two butane portable elements for cooking and 120 litres of water in a covered garbage can, in the basement, for washing and flushing toilets.
Seems reasonable that there should be a future plan to separate the power lines from the trees Andrea, and that freak storm is what will make that happen.
Peggy, changes have to be made indeed! If we want to live with the trees, we have to get with the program. For now the finger pointing needs to stop. I know how hard it is to live without power and feel bad about this whole mess.
Richard, trees and power lines do need to be separated!
Gail, they are horrible looking and dangerous. I knew we were up there, as I stated in the post, just not the second most!
Donna, being prepared is certainly the way to go! I have been better prepared though, I admit I was not prepared with a heating source this time around. Water is also an issue, but when there is snow outside I can get water to flush with. I do have bottles of water stored.
Andrea, I did have a tree get heavily damaged in my yard, but with UI utilities on the entire street it wasn't a factor. One thing that I did read recently, that many, many years ago, Connecticut had almost no trees, and that an aggressive, state generated effort was done to give home and land owners trees as a source of shade, wood, etc. Now look what we have.
One thing for certain, after reading the front page news today, is that the cost to Northeast Utilities for this damage will be well over $100,000,000, those are millions, and who do you think will be paying that bill?
Millions Ed? Glad someone else is gettng that bill, not me personally. Although we will see it in our electric bills I am sure. Yes, CT was a slash and burn kind of place, rolling fields, etc. The trees that were allowed to grow have now caused us a huge headache.
I agree, pointing fingers isn't going to fix anything, but a straight forward management solution might, if you can get any 2 people to agree on anything today without attacking each other. We need the trees, we need the power. Maybe there's a way that they don't occupy the same exact space?
The crews are working constantly to restore power. The problem is exacerbated by the fallen limbs and trees. I can appreciate people are frustrated, but bitching and blaming serves no constructive purpose.
Rene, great point, getting anyone to agree is the most difficult thing. But we need both, just not in the same space is right!
Jim, I think we need a better tree management system here. But bitching and blaming is certainly not going to make it go away, or make it better!
We have been seeing on the news everynight that there are still people in CT without power (til today I think). I find it hard to blame the power companies (even if I didn't have power) after seeing what they have been doing on the news with the power crews working around the clock and even having out of state power crews assisting.