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Furnaces, appliances still fried after Friday power surge, customers wonder who's liable


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MADISON, Wis. -- Like many across Madison's west side Friday night, Max Kuhns and Brian Tennant heard the same ominous sounds.

“A couple of big pops and flashes,” Kuhns recalled.

“There were a couple of popping sounds and then it went dark,” said Tennant.

According to MG&E, about 2,000 customers lost power Friday night after a car crashed into and broke a power pole.

Those pops explained the unpleasant surprises many awoke to the next morning.

“Power seemed to be restored but the house was cold,” Tennant said.

“The house went from 65 to 50 (degrees), and it was continuing to go down... going to go do laundry, 'Oh the washer doesn't work,' going to heat something up in the oven – doesn't heat up.”

Tennant, who has lived in Westmorland for the past 30 years, was able to get his furnace up and running on Saturday. He's still working on repairing other appliances.

“I'm anticipating an out-of-pocket cost of a couple thousand probably, conservatively,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the Sunset Village neighborhood, Kuhns was checking the circuit breaker when he heard more pops.

“And so, it's like as you're reaching for it you hear a pop and you're like, 'Woah, get my hand away!'”

Like Tennant, he also awoke to short circuits around the house.

“Come upstairs and found some bulbs that were exploded out of their sockets,” he said. “We found out that the water heater, the circuit board on that was fried. And we found out our dishwasher was out, too.”

He’s left with calculating if the damages meet his $1,000 deductible.

“The water heater is about $1,400, the dishwasher is probably around $300, the stereo systems are probably about $200 each, (induction) cooktop probably another hundred.”

They said when they contacted MG&E, the response was the same across the neighborhood affected.

“She was cordial and professional but basically said we're not liable for those kinds of incidents,” Tennant said.

“From what I've heard from our neighbors is that some people have gotten no compassion from them,” Kuhns said, “it’s either, ‘Too bad so sad,’ or ‘We’ll get back to you’ or ‘Contact our legal department,’ too.”

Fox 47 contacted MG&E, asking the questions we’ve been hearing from those affected: What, if any, liability falls on the company for this incident? What resources can they point residents to? Are they changing anything about their response to surges/outages as a result of this incident?

They sent us the following statement in response:

“The damage to MGE's electrical equipment on the pole caused damage to our distribution system and resulted in a voltage variation on MGE's electrical system.

"Whether and to what extent customers may have experienced property damage due to the surge (voltage variation) caused by the vehicle crash depends on a large number of variables. These variables include customer surge protection equipment, specific appliances, etc. Customers may have experienced these impacts in a variety of ways.

"MGE has taken all reasonable steps to prevent damaging voltage variations on our systems. A voltage variation, such as this one, was beyond our control due to the impacts of the vehicle crash on our distribution system. Customers also have a variety of tools available to them to avoid damage within their homes if/when a voltage variation occurs.

"As your community energy company, MGE is committed to operational excellence and to customer satisfaction. We take our obligation to our customers very seriously. MGE's system meets industry best practices. A voltage variation like this rarely happens on MGE's systems, in large part because of our focus on system reliability. MGE's electric service reliability is ranked number one in the country for both the fewest number of outages and shortest duration of outages per customer, according to the most recent annual industry survey of more than 75 electric utilities nationwide. Safe, reliable power is MGE's top priority every hour of every day.

"We understand and appreciate the frustration this situation has caused some customers. MGE also has sustained damage to its equipment as a result of the vehicle colliding with our pole.

"Customers should reach out to their homeowners’ insurance providers to try to get some of their costs covered for this unforeseen event. Some customers have passed along to MGE requests from their insurers for confirmation or information to support their insurance claim. We will continue to work with customers to provide the proper documentation of the outage event to their insurance companies. Customers are urged to contact MGE if you need such documentation."

According to Wisconsin law (PSC 113.0703), “Service interruptions, or voltage sags, swells and transients caused by the action of the elements, temporary separation of parts of the system from the main system, infrequent or unavoidable fluctuations of short duration, equipment failure, normal system operations necessary operations to safeguard employees or the general public, or other causes beyond the control of the utility shall not be considered a violation of these rules.”

But still, according to Tennant, “in my mind just because you're not required to doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.”

“Educating customers like you said about what measures we might be able to take,” he said.

The Public Services Commission of Wisconsin recommends contacting the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP) for emergency furnace repair, replacement, and crisis assistance.

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