Electrical shutdown round 2

[Dean Lofthouse]

Many of you will remember me starting a thread on electrical shutdown 14th April 2008.

 

Believe it or not I am still battling to get someone out to look at it.

 

I have spent countless hours on the phone talking to numpties at call centres and numerous letters and maps being sent only to be told they dont own the equipment or letters saying yes they do but...

 

I eventually, about 10 days ago, found the right dept. Only after phoning the YEDL emergency line and telling them I was thinking of committing suicide and if they didn't do something I would fell the tree onto their lines, who then admitted it was their line and they raised a job number for vegitation clearance.

 

I phoned last night to see whether anything has been actioned, only to be told there is no timeline for veg clearance jobs.

 

I then told them I was going to climb the tree regardless and risk being killed as I had lost all will to live after dealing with them, my money was being withheld till I finished the job and I couldn't wait for them any longer.

 

I told them I didn't care anymore.

 

They then said ok we get someone out within 24hrs to look at it. They sent someone out last night who rang me to tell him which pole it was.

I will ring tomorrow morning to see what the score is but if they mess around anymore I'm taking the tre down regardless, live tree or no live tree.

 

Never again will I take a job adjacent to powerlines, I've tried desperately to do the right thing. Just proves doing the right thing doesn't always pay

[Big 'Ammer]

Dean,

 

I'm still waiting for a one day switch off from feb for one site.

 

On another site, as part of a larger contract, I'm waiting since end of april. I've told my client I'll do all the other work that I can do and part bill them which they have agreed to.

 

Its bloody ridiculous.

 

I think switch off are now done by a division of Fountains for YEDL's veg management lot, but I may be wrong.

 

I've tried numerous times of going round the call centres and quoting job numbers, to no avail. All i'm told is that its logged and 'someone' will be in touch.

 

It always was long winded, but these days its virtually impossible.

[bob]

They then said ok we get someone out within 24hrs to look at it. They sent someone out last night who rang me to tell him which pole it was.

I will ring tomorrow morning to see what the score is but if they mess around anymore I'm taking the tre down regardless, live tree or no live tree.

 

 

 

this is the kind of attitude that will get you hurt is it really worth it the owner can not be expecting you to do this live and should not be pressuring you to do it

Either walk away from the job or wait till its safe to do the work and if your that short of work that you need to do it for a few quid give me a ring ill lend you a tenner.

if you did the work and had a accident and were still alive to tell the tale YE would take your arse through the courts as would HSE

You will earn more in the rest of your life than the day it all goes bang

[Dean Lofthouse]

My big mistake was undertaking other works for my client without fully understanding powerline etiquette and lumping the work as one big job.

 

The total bill for works is £2500 which has to be billed all at once to a trustees fund, I can't invoice till works are complete.

 

What really tickles me is it's taken two month to find out whos lines they are, sending off letters and maps then waiting 28 days.

 

You live and learn, at least I know what to write into the contract for next time.

[Dean Lofthouse]

One thing I'm not Bob, and that's short of work.

 

You keep your tenner, you might need it.

[Tree cutter Stu]

come on boys now now. The electricity board down here are realy good i got a switch off within a few weeks on a job last year. The line clearence boys even helped me chip and drag the stuff.

[Lee Winger]

I've never had any problems getting a shutdown the lecy boys are always more than helpfull, can't say the same about BT.

 

Tip, Dean when you get to do the job and if the lecy boys are on site at the same time, get a mobile number, saves a lots of messing about next time...

 

I've got a couple of the shrouding/shutdown boys numbers on my phone one call is all I make

[Rich Rule]

Also if it is in the right situation... to down a line in certain situations the guys down here put traffic management in place. An engineer recommended this to us last week when we were discussing taking the line down. Voila, traffic management, outsourced at no extra cost.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I am going to wait till we get a shutdown no problem. What niffs me is how difficult and time consuming it is.

 

I bet I've racked up 5 or 6 hours on the phone and probably the same in researching it, doing maps and writing letters.

 

The worst thing is the tree is a piece of pee to do and there's a tree behind to anchor into so you'd swing away from the wires should you slip or fall, plus the overhanging branches are way above the wires.

 

You try to do the right thing ???

 

I am very confident they can be done without a shut down, but hey whats 5 or 6 months wait between mates.

[Chris Sheppard]

Sounds like they're as bad round you Dean as they are around us.

 

There's a few manky old Sycamores in a Field next to the primary school in one of the local villages, all within easy reach of a row of powerlines , the school building and also the main road.

 

They first approached the electric board early this year (can't remember when but it was frosty still) and apparently are still no further on with it despite the fact that one of the trees has already blown over since then and only narrowly missed taking the wires with them.

 

There's already been talk of just giving them a yuck with the boughton but I dug my heels in and said I wasn't having anything to do with it.