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Council approves Rhode Island Energy pole installation and plans letter after resident reports dangerous power surge
Summary
The council approved Rhode Island Energy's application to install a new pole (subject to staff approval) and agreed to send the utility a letter expressing safety concerns after a resident described a Jan. 23 outage and a house surge that caused property damage.
The Exeter Town Council voted Monday to approve Rhode Island Energy’s petition to install a new utility pole and related anchor work, with the approval conditioned on staff review.
A resident, Sheila, described a Jan. 23 incident in which a vehicle struck a pole near Weaver Hill Road/Division Street and power restoration allegedly caused a hazardous surge. Sheila told the council she smelled burning and “the whole house surge protector caught fire,” and that an appliance panel behind her television began burning when power was restored. “Narragansett Electric Company is saying that they put three times the power through the poles…when they were restoring power,” she said, adding that the event caused damage and alarm.
Council members asked staff to prepare a letter to Rhode Island Energy outlining the town’s concerns; Council Member Lynn (by motion) was asked to draft an appropriate letter based on meeting notes. One council member said it would be “nice to think we could get the same response from them that we got from DOT” after the town’s quick work resulted in new signs on a dangerous bridge.
The motion to approve Rhode Island Energy’s pole installation passed with the condition that town staff (Rob) review and finalize the siting prior to final authorization. The council also discussed sending a separate letter to the utility about the outage and surge concerns; staff was directed to prepare that letter for the council.
No compensation or equipment claims were resolved during the meeting; council members advised the resident to work with the utility and insurance carriers for claims. The council’s immediate action was limited to approving the pole installation subject to staff sign-off and asking the clerk to transmit concerns to Rhode Island Energy.
