Century Link Battery Backup?

[Martha]

Hi folks,

We just discovered in Gold Hill during a recent all-day power outage that our landlines were useless due to lack of battery charge at the Century Link box. When looked into, Lumen (the new overseers for Century Link) says they will no longer service the battery. When asked if the Fire Dept. could attach a generator, they were told no.

Of course this is more than an inconvenience, it is a safety issue. Gold Hill proper has no access to cellphone service.

My questions are this:  1) What is the status for Jamestown? How was it resolved, if it was and 2) Who are the proper people (inside and outside of CL/Lumen) to contact?

Thank you for your help.  Martha (formerly at the PO) in Gold Hill

[O'B's]

Hi Martha-
The BCFFA (Mt fire chiefs group) and BCC (Boulder County Communications) are working with Century Link/Lumen and Xcel to provide funding and training for the local VFD's/FPD's to connect generators to the switches (the battery terminals are called switches). We're also working with the Colorado PUC to coerce the large utilities to meet their service requirements. However this places the responsibility in the event of an outage in the wrong place. It is not the responsibility of the communities or the FD's to remedy the service outage caused by a PSPS (public safety power shutdown/Xcel) or alleviate CL/L's responsibility to provide service during an unscheduled outage. However, the primary interest of the VFD's/FPD's is public safety so we have offered to augment the system by providing this service if trained. Effectively, if a well-meaning responder or citizen were to connect a generator to a switch to provide back-up power, and the switch isn't decoupled from line power, the generator will re-energize the line which could start a fire or electrocute a lineman working to resolve the issue. Neither are good outcomes. The legal department at CL/L is reviewing liabilities and we hope to have an answer sometime in the next couple of months. Please understand that this has been a multi-year endeavor which is why we've turned to the PUC for assistance. Beyond that we are also working with Xcel and CL/L to work together, so that in an instance you've described where Xcel is servicing their lines and de-energizes them, CL/L can take the switches off-line and source generator power for them.

[Rose H-H]

Thanks Martha and Chris for this conversation!

While talking with my brother, who is a Master Electrician, about the recent brown out's, etc., he mentioned this organization

https://gridalternatives.org/regions/colorado

He said that they may also have some kind of program(s) for small, rural towns like ours to get grant funds for community solar panels that could possibly feed into storage batteries that could help with this kind of situation also.

I did not inherit the electrical talent genes in our family.  So someone other than me could look into this, if they are so inspired.

[O'B's]

Hi Rose-while it's a nice idea, again it creates a situation where the lines could back feed and reenergize which isn't ideal. And CL/L would still have to approve since it's their equipment that the panels would be mounted on. We'll continue working with the behemoths on geologic time. We are making progress.

[Martha]

O'B, thank you for all the explanations. I had no idea this had been going on for years. At some point I hope we as individuals can help lobby PUC or maybe our state congress-people or whomever. I'm happy to make a phone call (if the phone lines are working) and for sure write a letter or two or three.

[Cynthia Michaels]

O'B, thank you for all the explanations. I had no idea this had been going on for years. At some point I hope we as individuals can help lobby PUC or maybe our state congress-people or whomever. I'm happy to make a phone call (if the phone lines are working) and for sure write a letter or two or three.

It wasn't too long ago where CenturyLink was mailing out postcards encouraging people to keep their landlines because they still worked when the power was down and cell phones weren't functioning.

[Hollis]

O'B, thank you for all the explanations. I had no idea this had been going on for years. At some point I hope we as individuals can help lobby PUC or maybe our state congress-people or whomever. I'm happy to make a phone call (if the phone lines are working) and for sure write a letter or two or three.

It wasn't too long ago where CenturyLink was mailing out postcards encouraging people to keep their landlines because they still worked when the power was down and cell phones weren't functioning.

Centurylink, schmenturylink, I got my own battery backup to power my Starlink internet, so I can make WIFI calls, and get reverse 911 calls.
I dumped my landline in 2014, saving approx $70/month.

[Martha]

Centurylink, schmenturylink, I got my own battery backup to power my Starlink internet, so I can make WIFI calls, and get reverse 911 calls.
I dumped my landline in 2014, saving approx $70/month.

Good for you, Hollis. I have a hill behind me that obstructs SL (yes, I have the app to look for a location). Sad that even if I had the view, I'd have to be beholden to a billionaire I currently don't care for, particularly since he has his eyes and minions set on dismantling the Post Office and privatizing it.

[Hollis]

Centurylink, schmenturylink, I got my own battery backup to power my Starlink internet, so I can make WIFI calls, and get reverse 911 calls.
I dumped my landline in 2014, saving approx $70/month.

Good for you, Hollis. I have a hill behind me that obstructs SL (yes, I have the app to look for a location). Sad that even if I had the view, I'd have to be beholden to a billionaire I currently don't care for, particularly since he has his eyes and minions set on dismantling the Post Office and privatizing it.

 
Martha, I completely understand, tuff choices these days.