Electric company, issue at pole nearly set my house on fire

[Crow1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
-Texas

Hi,

in Houston, with the power company Centerpoint who operates all poles, wires, etc. and is responsible for upkeep.

Had an issue where 2 surge protectors suddenly started sparking, melted, and one caught on fire out of nowhere. I had just came home, so managed to rip the plugs out of the wall. Both scorched giant burn marks into my floor.

The electric company technician came out and discovered it was an "open neutral at the pole." In effect, both "legs" of power going to my house went into one line and I got something like 230 volts going through my house. It damaged my floor, burned my surge protectors, damaged my computer cpu, and various other electronics were damaged or no longer functional. I injured my knee slightly when sliding to rip the cords from the outlets.

The power company asserts that they are protected by a "tariff" that covers "fluctuations" in power. They agreed to pay me $50 for the surge protectors alone.

What should I do? I have contacted their "claims" department, it took a month for them to get back to me and they simply told me "no, we will give you money for 2 surge protectors only." They send me a denial letter for any other damages.

Thanks!

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
-Texas

Hi,

in Houston, with the power company Centerpoint who operates all poles, wires, etc. and is responsible for upkeep.

Had an issue where 2 surge protectors suddenly started sparking, melted, and one caught on fire out of nowhere. I had just came home, so managed to rip the plugs out of the wall. Both scorched giant burn marks into my floor.

The electric company technician came out and discovered it was an "open neutral at the pole." In effect, both "legs" of power going to my house went into one line and I got something like 230 volts going through my house. It damaged my floor, burned my surge protectors, damaged my computer cpu, and various other electronics were damaged or no longer functional. I injured my knee slightly when sliding to rip the cords from the outlets.

The power company asserts that they are protected by a "tariff" that covers "fluctuations" in power. They agreed to pay me $50 for the surge protectors alone.

What should I do?

Thanks!

File a claim with them for your damages.

 

[Crow1]

File a claim with them for your damages.

I'm sorry, let me edit that in. I did file a claim and they stated they will not pay for anything other than 2 surge protectors and that they are "protected by the tariff."

 

[Zigner]

I'm sorry, let me edit that in. I did file a claim and they stated they will not pay for anything other than 2 surge protectors and that they are "protected by the tariff."

They may be right. You may wish to run this through your homeowner's (renter's) insurance if the loss is great enough.

 

[Crow1]

They may be right. You may wish to run this through your homeowner's (renter's) insurance if the loss is great enough.

I see. I did read the "tariff" they spoke off and it very generally states they are not responsible for "fluctuations." I'm not the expert, but I find it hard to believe that, if I were not home, my house would have burned down (as the rug caught on fire) and they are not responsible for more than doubling the rated voltage to my house. And this is all due to a poorly maintained wiring at the pole, which is strictly under their maintenance.

 

[Silverplum]

I see. I did read the "tariff" they spoke off and it very generally states they are not responsible for "fluctuations." I'm not the expert, but I find it hard to believe that, if I were not home, my house would have burned down (as the rug caught on fire) and they are not responsible for more than doubling the rated voltage to my house. And this is all due to a poorly maintained wiring at the pole, which is strictly under their maintenance.

That's why you have insurance. It's great that you caught it early!

 

[justalayman]

This was not a fluctuation. this was an equipment failure. Fluctuations are where the system is operating normally but the voltage level is not at the nominal voltage (120 volts and 240 volts for a typical residential service). There are standard voltage level requirements set by the state where they will allow for a variation (most states somewhere between +/- 5-10%.) Outside of that we are beyond allowed voltage fluctuation.

What happened to you was an outright equipment failure.

I don't know if you will be able to collect from them but do not accept their statement this is a fluctuation.


Just a heads up;

Purchase a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer equipment. It would have saved your computer in this situation.

 

[Crow1]

This was not a fluctuation. this was an equipment failure. Fluctuations are where the system is operating normally but the voltage level is not at the nominal voltage (120 volts and 240 volts for a typical residential service). There are standard voltage level requirements set by the state where they will allow for a variation (most states somewhere between +/- 5-10%.) Outside of that we are beyond allowed voltage fluctuation.

What happened to you was an outright equipment failure.

I don't know if you will be able to collect from them but do not accept their statement this is a fluctuation.


Just a heads up;

Purchase a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer equipment. It would have saved your computer in this situation.

Thanks for the information. The surge protector did well, but after it caught on fire, I think that was the limit of what it could protect. Most electronics were protected and survived, but the computer CPU is incredibly sensitive to voltage and must have caught some extra.



Also, the problem with home insurance is the large deductible of $1000, which is about the amount that was done in damages. Lose-lose