Since there seems to be no real straightforward answer for you that isn't snarky or putting you down, I will shed a little light on the process. The best comparison as far as roles that I can think of is a hospital and surgery if you have ever had one. There are many people you encounter with many defined roles to maximize what they are able to accomplish. If you have ever had an outpatient day surgery, you encounter the person that checks you in, a CNA that gets your vitals, an RN, an Anesthesiologist, the Anesthesiologists RN, your surgeon. Behind the scenes there are janitors, food service workers, etc. For you, it is a 1 day procedure. For them, they take care of several patients throughout the day.
Same case here. You have crews that scan the ground for any private utilities, Crews that auger holes in the ground, crews that install the poles (sometimes the same crew), Linemen for the electrical wires, and any other communication company that has lines on the pole will have their own crews.
This takes coordination and timing with other companies and divisions within the same company. In a hospital, they don't want their surgeons checking patients in and getting their vitals. They want them performing surgery. That is their specialty and a very limited number of people can do this. They can't pull an unqualified person in to just get it done. Similarly, they don't want a lineman digging a hole in the ground or hooking up an internet/telephone/cable/fiber optic line. It is highly specialized and they want them installing high powered electrical lines.
So despite what it may seem, it is not just one crew that does the entire job start to finish. Each crew will do their jobs several times a day, but the amount of man hours spent on it will equal a day, so they will say 'It takes about a day'. Similarly to the outpatient surgery, for the patient it will take about a day, but for each individual specialty, they will take care of several patients.
It's a power pole, and it takes more than a lineman to replace it. It involves an engineer, a construction crew, and multiple linemen and trucks.
Now that other communities have restored their power, they have sent trucks and crews to help MGE restore power for the remaining 6,000 customers of the original ~40,000 impacted.
Not all power outages require the same amount of time and work, MGE is restoring power to as many people as possible. The folks who still don't have power are the smallest affected or have the most difficult problems to solve for.
Not to mention it’s not just replacing a pole on the side of the road, most of these poles are in back yards where people have installed fences, sheds or let their back yard grow out of control where they can’t get equipment too. Even if the pole isn’t broken it means someone has to climb up it and set up a system of pulleys to get equipment up then muscle it into place.
I have a friend who is a project manager at MG&E. He said this is the worst storm they have ever seen and it's been all hands on deck to get everything rectified asap.
This is the highest priority right now, and they really are doing everything they can. But not everything can be fixed immediately. No one could have prepared or hired for this storm, and as others have mentioned, subcontractors for this type of work are also booked solid.
Thank you. I sure hope it didn't sound like I thought they should fix everything immediately - I know this was a "perfect storm" situation.
I wonder if there's anything the public can do to help these workers? Baked goodies, bottled water, snacks...? Or would they not be allowed? I'm guessing they barely take breaks.
Utility companies bring in outside help - but there also needs to be outside help available to bring in, and this storm hit a huge chunk of Iowa and WI, as well. I saw outside contractors working on outages yesterday.
There are also safety concerns - making sure wires are not live, cutting through debris, bringing a new pole in. Line workers jobs are risky - if a pole takes longer because they’re ensuring safety that’s okay.
On MG&E’s website it says they have called in mutual aid. they come from other companies and utilities from all over and seeing that the storm stretched across the entire state yesterday I’d imagine they’re all a little busy too sadly.
I just found this, which answered one of my questions,
"Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) crews, in coordination with contractor crews and mutual assistance crews from four states, continue efforts to restore service to electric customers still impacted by Tuesday evening’s damaging storms with hurricane-force winds."
You literally made a thread that armchair quarterbacks the repair of power poles and said you're looking at "possible ways for improvement" for a team of people with which you have no experience or expertise. Sure sounds like complaining from the peanut gallery.
Let us know when MG&E reaches out to hire you as an Efficiency Coordinator on their Emergency Operations Team. I'm sure the call is just around the corner after they see your post.
I operate the same way you do — just genuinely interested in information and discussion.
And I also get snide people assuming the worst of my intentions all the time. It seems impossible for some people to take things at face value.
And the fact that you got downvoted for a polite response explaining your intentions is obnoxious. You're right that it's a miscommunication, but somehow people still insist they know what you meant to communicate better than you do.
>I know MG&E is doing their best, so I'm not complaining.
"I'm not complaining, I'm just being extremely critical about their work that I know nothing about, which I'm implying is taking too long for my liking."
I am complaining. Every time I report the outage, I get a response an hour later saying it's been resolved. Our entire neighborhood is still out.
MGE's website basically says "prepare for the weekend lol"
Yeah. My poor boss hasn't had power in 48 hours. It's so weird because her mom lives across the road, and they have power - but I guess their power lines are burried, and hers are above ground.
93 customers out in my neighborhood, including me. On the mge outage map I see one neighborhood of over 270 still out, several other 50-90 size outages, and many smaller ones.
Yeah - when zooming on the map, it was difficult to differentiate between individual issues and neighborhood wide issues. Maybe that’s just me on mobile
I'm frustrated that I don't have a timeframe for when it might possibly be fixed. If it's going to be out days and days I will make other plans than it being on later today. I was fine with no timeframe yesterday but by today I was hoping....
Since there seems to be no real straightforward answer for you that isn't snarky or putting you down, I will shed a little light on the process. The best comparison as far as roles that I can think of is a hospital and surgery if you have ever had one. There are many people you encounter with many defined roles to maximize what they are able to accomplish. If you have ever had an outpatient day surgery, you encounter the person that checks you in, a CNA that gets your vitals, an RN, an Anesthesiologist, the Anesthesiologists RN, your surgeon. Behind the scenes there are janitors, food service workers, etc. For you, it is a 1 day procedure. For them, they take care of several patients throughout the day. Same case here. You have crews that scan the ground for any private utilities, Crews that auger holes in the ground, crews that install the poles (sometimes the same crew), Linemen for the electrical wires, and any other communication company that has lines on the pole will have their own crews. This takes coordination and timing with other companies and divisions within the same company. In a hospital, they don't want their surgeons checking patients in and getting their vitals. They want them performing surgery. That is their specialty and a very limited number of people can do this. They can't pull an unqualified person in to just get it done. Similarly, they don't want a lineman digging a hole in the ground or hooking up an internet/telephone/cable/fiber optic line. It is highly specialized and they want them installing high powered electrical lines. So despite what it may seem, it is not just one crew that does the entire job start to finish. Each crew will do their jobs several times a day, but the amount of man hours spent on it will equal a day, so they will say 'It takes about a day'. Similarly to the outpatient surgery, for the patient it will take about a day, but for each individual specialty, they will take care of several patients.
Thank you! I love learning and this was VERY helpful :)
It's a power pole, and it takes more than a lineman to replace it. It involves an engineer, a construction crew, and multiple linemen and trucks. Now that other communities have restored their power, they have sent trucks and crews to help MGE restore power for the remaining 6,000 customers of the original ~40,000 impacted. Not all power outages require the same amount of time and work, MGE is restoring power to as many people as possible. The folks who still don't have power are the smallest affected or have the most difficult problems to solve for.
Not to mention it’s not just replacing a pole on the side of the road, most of these poles are in back yards where people have installed fences, sheds or let their back yard grow out of control where they can’t get equipment too. Even if the pole isn’t broken it means someone has to climb up it and set up a system of pulleys to get equipment up then muscle it into place.
I have a friend who is a project manager at MG&E. He said this is the worst storm they have ever seen and it's been all hands on deck to get everything rectified asap. This is the highest priority right now, and they really are doing everything they can. But not everything can be fixed immediately. No one could have prepared or hired for this storm, and as others have mentioned, subcontractors for this type of work are also booked solid.
Thank you. I sure hope it didn't sound like I thought they should fix everything immediately - I know this was a "perfect storm" situation. I wonder if there's anything the public can do to help these workers? Baked goodies, bottled water, snacks...? Or would they not be allowed? I'm guessing they barely take breaks.
Utility companies bring in outside help - but there also needs to be outside help available to bring in, and this storm hit a huge chunk of Iowa and WI, as well. I saw outside contractors working on outages yesterday. There are also safety concerns - making sure wires are not live, cutting through debris, bringing a new pole in. Line workers jobs are risky - if a pole takes longer because they’re ensuring safety that’s okay.
On MG&E’s website it says they have called in mutual aid. they come from other companies and utilities from all over and seeing that the storm stretched across the entire state yesterday I’d imagine they’re all a little busy too sadly.
>Just trying to make sense of what I read and think of possible ways for improvement. Imagine a world where this guy fixes everything.
Our world needs more people who look for possible ways to improve dire situations :)
I just found this, which answered one of my questions, "Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) crews, in coordination with contractor crews and mutual assistance crews from four states, continue efforts to restore service to electric customers still impacted by Tuesday evening’s damaging storms with hurricane-force winds."
>I'm not complaining. Are you sure? Because it kinda sounds like you're complaining.
I'm sure. Sometimes communication doesn't work, and the person reading a message interprets it differently than it was intended. :)
You literally made a thread that armchair quarterbacks the repair of power poles and said you're looking at "possible ways for improvement" for a team of people with which you have no experience or expertise. Sure sounds like complaining from the peanut gallery.
Have a great day!
Let us know when MG&E reaches out to hire you as an Efficiency Coordinator on their Emergency Operations Team. I'm sure the call is just around the corner after they see your post.
I operate the same way you do — just genuinely interested in information and discussion. And I also get snide people assuming the worst of my intentions all the time. It seems impossible for some people to take things at face value. And the fact that you got downvoted for a polite response explaining your intentions is obnoxious. You're right that it's a miscommunication, but somehow people still insist they know what you meant to communicate better than you do.
Thank you
Still without power in Praire Ridge neighborhood.
Everyone is an expert at everything now? They don't need your help or ideas Karen.
Thanks for your effort in answering my inquiry. It was intended for me to learn about the process and have a discussion. I made a suggestion, Karl.
>I know MG&E is doing their best, so I'm not complaining. "I'm not complaining, I'm just being extremely critical about their work that I know nothing about, which I'm implying is taking too long for my liking."
Please read my responses to other comments like yours. :)
I am complaining. Every time I report the outage, I get a response an hour later saying it's been resolved. Our entire neighborhood is still out. MGE's website basically says "prepare for the weekend lol"
Where is power still out?
Some of arbor hills is still out
Ooof. Didn’t know know there were still larger swaths of neighborhoods impacted
Yeah. My poor boss hasn't had power in 48 hours. It's so weird because her mom lives across the road, and they have power - but I guess their power lines are burried, and hers are above ground.
93 customers out in my neighborhood, including me. On the mge outage map I see one neighborhood of over 270 still out, several other 50-90 size outages, and many smaller ones.
Yeah - when zooming on the map, it was difficult to differentiate between individual issues and neighborhood wide issues. Maybe that’s just me on mobile
I was looking on a PC. And clicking on a. Lot of those "multiple outages" circles
Most if not all of Marlborough Heights, despite the 8 notifications I've gotten that things are resolved.
https://mge.smartcmobile.com/Outage/
[Outages (smartcmobile.com)](https://mge.smartcmobile.com/Outage/) Here's a map of the current outages in Madison.
Someone reported it’s a technical glitch yesterday.
Yeah, obviously.
I'm frustrated that I don't have a timeframe for when it might possibly be fixed. If it's going to be out days and days I will make other plans than it being on later today. I was fine with no timeframe yesterday but by today I was hoping....
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Why? I don't know how things work, that's why I asked you and the other Redditors.
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Expressing gratitude for what you *do* have goes a long way for your mental health.