While MLGW is working to restore power to customers still in the dark from the weekend’s severe storms homeowners may have to make some repairs of their own.
MLGW says you should check the weatherheads on your house and if they are damaged, it’s up to the customer to get them repaired.
A weatherhead is the shell-shaped piece of plastic or metal that shelters the utility cables running into a building.
By building code the piping, they’re on top of must be 10 feet high.
Electrician, Tommy Pruitt says that leaves it vulnerable to a severe weather event.
Power cables run from poles along the street to the weather head on the house.
The weatherhead is usually located above the roofline or attached to the cable or side of the house electric lines connect.
If you had one of these damaged during the weekend’s storm and you don’t have power, the weather head will have to be repaired, but the repairs won’t be left to MLGW.
“Those are burgundy cylinders or crimps,” said Pruitt. “Right there from that point down, all the way down. Coming down the service and into the panel the bonding, the grounding and everything belongs to the customer. It’s the customer’s responsibility.”
That means repair costs are left up to the property owner and could range from $700 to $1700.
“Then everything from the crimps on back to the pole belongs to Light, Gas & Water,” said Pruitt. “That’s their responsibility.”
Experts say weather heads can be an easy fix, but a licensed electrician must do the repairs and city code enforcement must inspect the work before power can be restored by MLGW.
