Are ESB Networks doing a good job repairing storm damage?

Plates

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

bbam

From what I've seen they are doing a good job.
Out working in tough conditions repairing damage caused by some of the worst weather we've seen in decades.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

They are doing a magnificent job.
Easy to whinge from the side lines, easy but not really all that intelligent!

sawdoubters

of course they are doing good,if all wires were buried or on large pylons,your also looking at old infrastructure

how many electric companys are there now,esb is not getting as much revenue

if the esb was privatized like some politicians are talking about ,the wait for repairs will take longer

Plates

Sir Humphrey Appleby wrote: »

They are doing a magnificent job.
Easy to whinge from the side lines, easy but not really all that intelligent!

As intelligent as being able to differentiate between a whinge and a question?

Gavlor

sawdoubters wrote: »

of course they are doing good,if all wires were buried or on large pylons,your also looking at old infrastructure

how many electric companys are there now,esb is not getting as much revenue

You wha?...... https://www.esb.ie/main/press/pressreleaseWS.jsp?id=3234




The ground staff are doing a great job at present but too many trees overhanging electricity wires has caused a massive problem.

kneemos

Plates wrote: »

As intelligent as being able to differentiate between a whinge and a question?

Trees down,much cutting,long time.

bbam

Control of overhanging trees is mostly a contracted job and not done by esb workers.
So the quality of the work vaies from area to area.
Round here they are good and clean up well after themselves.

Anyone seeing trees overgrown needs to keep contacting esb to put pressure on the contractors.

YbFocus

Yes they work there asses off at times like this, one guy list his life yesterday at it, the poor man.

I have a lot of respect for them out battling in almost impossible conditions so that we can have our comfort!

jjpep

Plates wrote: »

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

Comparing on population size only doesn't tell us anything though. We need to know how much damage was done in both countries, how spread out is the damage, how many people are trained to do the necessary damage etc etc. There is no meaningful comparison at all to be made just on population numbers.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

Plates wrote: »

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

At the time you posted this there were, according to RTE ,less than 25,000 homes without power, that's less than 42% of the number in your post.:rolleyes:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0216/504628-weather-esb-eircom/

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

sawdoubters wrote: »

of course they are doing good,if all wires were buried or on large pylons,your also looking at old infrastructure

how many electric companys are there now,esb is not getting as much revenue

if the esb was privatized like some politicians are talking about ,the wait for repairs will take longer

I have to take issue with a few points. The infrastructure is actually not old at all. The rate of refurbishment has been extremely high in recent years and the conversion to 20kv has replaced all 10kv networks recently. Also, the networks did not blow down. They were brought down and that is a huge difference. The comment about the number if electric companies don't make sense. There are more supply companies than ever and irrespective of that the networks are always very well maintained by ESB Networks.

I agree that privatisation would result in much slower repairs. It would also lead to less I vestment in upkeep of the network.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Plates wrote: »

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

I'm sorry but your second paragraph smacks of more of a winge than a question. Its not a matter of doing enough or standards of construction - its a matter of where the most violent gusts hit, the trees in those areas, the nature of the habitation in those areas.....

From what I have experienced this week, ESB are doing a hell of a good job. Well done to them!

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

jjpep wrote: »

Comparing on population size only doesn't tell us anything though. We need to know how much damage was done in both countries, how spread out is the damage, how many people are trained to do the necessary damage etc etc. There is no meaningful comparison at all to be made just on population numbers.

Exactly, on Wednesday 190,000 homes and businesses in Ireland were affected, it was 140,000 in the UK. Go figure.

Teyla Emmagan

Would never have anything but praise for then to be honest. Whenever there's an issue the ESB crews genuinely seem to work their asses off to get the power restored. I feel sorry for anyone still without power, but I really think they're doing all they can.

The Backwards Man

Aye they're doing grand. I'll be the first to say they have a handy number most of the time, but at times like this they earn their corn.

CL7

This is out 4th day without electricity. While it's a pain, I have nothing but respect for the lads on the ground. I'm sure they are doing the best they can.

nanook

I asked myself the same question on Wednesday.

We lost power around 4pm, and as always it was a major pain, but it was back by midnight.
We had friends visiting on Wednesday and they told us they passed numerous ESB crews working flat out on their way home.

If we all remember Wednesday, I would not have drove anywhere Wednesday let alone go out and work with power tools.

They have done a great job, I know people went some time without power, but they worked through horrendous conditions, for proxy overtime mind, but still worked through the crap to get the power back.

vicwatson

They are doing their job, the job they are paid very well for. Why the big praise? I dont get it.

Love to know what they do when no storm damage, it takes about 10 weeks to get a connection on a site normally, its a joke

rubberdiddies

vicwatson wrote: »

They are doing their job, the job they are paid very well for. Why the big praise? I dont get it.

Love to know what they do when no storm damage, it takes about 10 weeks to get a connection on a site normally, its a joke

I have to agree with this to some extent. It is their job and they get paid handsomely to do that. I know a couple of people who work for ESB networks and they love their job and get paid VERY well. In saying that, I don't envy them having to climb the heights in this weather, however that is what they are trained and paid to do.

Why is there less sympathy for the mobile phone companies when they have such outages which also require climbing heights and towers to restore service?

Valetta

vicwatson wrote: »

Why the big praise? I dont get it.

You don't deserve it.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

rubberdiddies wrote: »

Why is there less sympathy for the mobile phone companies when they have such outages which also require climbing heights and towers to restore service?

Probably just because we depend more on electricity than mobiles, you cant charge your mobile without electricity, and your mobile wont boil the kettle, heat the house or roast a chicken!:D

imitation

I would imagine there are a lot less engineers per square km in Ireland than the Uk to match the population. In fairness this was a once in a lifetime storm (I hope!) with hurricane force winds. Finally, as a nation we are a huge fan off once off houses and ribbon development, this means long stretches of cable for a few houses at a time, it could be the same amount of work to restore 5 houses as to restore a town !

Fozzie Bear

vicwatson wrote: »

They are doing their job, the job they are paid very well for. Why the big praise? I dont get it.

Love to know what they do when no storm damage, it takes about 10 weeks to get a connection on a site normally, its a joke

I'm betting you feel the same about teachers and Gardai too. No idea about what their job entails or the slightest idea what they face on a daily basis. But you still feel qualified to criticise them.

washiskin

Absolutely they are, got us up and running after 24 hours and apologized it took so long because 8 of their crew were sent to Cork to help out down there. Looking at the conditions they had to work in to fix the problem, the amount they (reportedly) get paid is well earned.

Gumbo

rubberdiddies wrote: »

Why is there less sympathy for the mobile phone companies when they have such outages which also require climbing heights and towers to restore service?

Because the mobile network company will say "weather too bad, we fix it later" where the ESB crew just go and fix it, no matter the weather.

I have a mate who is a mobile network engineer for meteor, I asked him this exact question.

kneemos

kceire wrote: »

Because the mobile network company will say "weather too bad, we fix it later" where the ESB crew just go and fix it, no matter the weather.

I have a mate who is a mobile network engineer for meteor, I asked him this exact question.

They're climbing towers rather poles in fairness.

fastrac

My gripe is the total lack of information from Customer Services.Half the faults are not shown and they seem to have no idea of a repair time. we are the only house out around and have a long wait ahead of us.

Femme_Fatale

Plates wrote: »

As intelligent as being able to differentiate between a whinge and a question?

Given the fact that you ask it at all, and without knowing the ins and outs, it does look like a criticism. Last year or the year before, people from the ESB actually went over to the UK to help restore power, so it's not a straightforward question of numbers. They're out working non stop, throughout the night, in bad weather. What... more can they do? Northern Ireland Electricity has joined in also, giving a good indication as to how bad things are.

vicwatson wrote: »

They are doing their job, the job they are paid very well for.

And every penny deserved. This current work has been very risky and dangerous. People are just recognising this. Yeh it's their job, but nothing wrong with showing appreciation for a job well done. I find it hard to believe that you genuinely don't understand why they are being praised. It's very weird also to bring what they earn into it; surely the dangers of this work is more of a pressing concern...?

fastrac wrote: »

My gripe is the total lack of information from Customer Services.Half the faults are not shown and they seem to have no idea of a repair time. we are the only house out around and have a long wait ahead of us.

How are they supposed to know?

I've never understood the way service advisors are expected to predict the future. I don't agree with them giving estimated times because that causes false hope (e.g. the Ulster Bank disaster). It'd be better if they just told the truth and said they don't know.

Jester252

I hated the way that the ESB had to release a statement, in the middle of the storm, telling people that the crews will be out as soon as high winds die down. I can't believe people wanted these guys to go out and climb ESB poles.

P. Breathnach

Sir Humphrey Appleby wrote: »

... your mobile wont ... roast a chicken!:D

There are people who believe that your mobile can do that sort of thing; you can meet them in the CT forum (or in my local pub).

Freddy Smelly

an eircom technician died while trying to repair some of the storm damage. RIP Michael O’Riordan and condolences to all his family

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/family-michael-oriordan-devastated-after-3150354

martingriff

rubberdiddies wrote: »

I have to agree with this to some extent. It is their job and they get paid handsomely to do that. I know a couple of people who work for ESB networks and they love their job and get paid VERY well. In saying that, I don't envy them having to climb the heights in this weather, however that is what they are trained and paid to do.

Why is there less sympathy for the mobile phone companies when they have such outages which also require climbing heights and towers to restore service?

Just wondering what the people who climb the poles I know average pay but hell if you have 2 people in a company one on €150K and one on €20K and get the average you would think both get paid very well.

Anyone who had to go out and work on Wednesday and in high winds to fix things deserve resspect

end of the road

fastrac wrote: »

My gripe is the total lack of information from Customer Services.Half the faults are not shown and they seem to have no idea of a repair time. we are the only house out around and have a long wait ahead of us.

they won't necessarily know the fault until they find it so it might take a while before they have any information, when they find the fault they won't know straight away in some cases how long it will take to fix it so its best not to give an exact time if their not sure, sometimes they will know and from my experience the information is given when known

end of the road

Jester252 wrote: »

I hated the way that the ESB had to release a statement, in the middle of the storm, telling people that the crews will be out as soon as high winds die down. I can't believe people wanted these guys to go out and climb ESB poles.

some people live in a bubble and can't deal with being inconvenienced for any length of time, they expect everything to run at all times and never break down or stop working due to age and so on.

Amprodude

end of the road wrote: »

some people live in a bubble and can't deal with being inconvenienced for any length of time, they expect everything to run at all times and never break down or stop working due to age and so on.

Come down off your high horse. Its ok for you because you arent without power and can enjoy the benefits of having it back again. For me and im sure is the same for some others are without power since 12.30pm last Wednesday and was told that it could take until Tuesday this week to fix. Its unacceptable in this modern era. We can do without power for 1-2 days but it becomes frustrating then. Main problem is there arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems too many cutbacks when they badly needed and becsuse i live in the middle of nowhere im going to have to wait. I have rang them numerous times but nothing they can do apparantely. No water, no heat, no cooking no washing and no light you can see why the average person in this situation is pissed off.

jack presley

Amprodude wrote: »

There arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems

As well as the overpaid stuff that gets thrown around at ESB workers, isn't the 'they're way over staffed for what's needed' always thrown around as well?

martingriff

Amprodude wrote: »

Come down off your high horse. Its ok for you because you arent without power and can enjoy the benefits of having it back again. For me and im sure is the same for some others are without power since 12.30pm last wednesday and was told that it could take until Tuesday this week to fix. Its unacceptable in this modern era. We can do without power for 1-2 days but it becomes frustrating then. Main problem is there arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems too many cutbacks when they badly needed and becsuse i live in the middle of nowhere im going to have to wait. I have rang them numerous times but nothing they can do apparantely. No water, no heat, no cooking no washing and no light you can see why the average person in this situation is pissed off.

I know you are pissed off and waiting untill Tuesday is a long time. However 2 things. Firstly the message you replied to was people expecting the ESB crew to go and fix it straight away during the high winds which is stupid. Secondly there is many reasons why lines are still down such as trees and other fallen debris stopping the esb from working. The ESB do not cut down the trees.

Hope you get your power back soon

Femme_Fatale

Amprodude wrote: »

Come down off your high horse. Its ok for you because you arent without power and can enjoy the benefits of having it back again. For me and im sure is the same for some others are without power since 12.30pm last Wednesday and was told that it could take until Tuesday this week to fix. Its unacceptable in this modern era. We can do without power for 1-2 days but it becomes frustrating then. Main problem is there arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems too many cutbacks when they badly needed and becsuse i live in the middle of nowhere im going to have to wait. I have rang them numerous times but nothing they can do apparantely. No water, no heat, no cooking no washing and no light you can see why the average person in this situation is pissed off.

It is absolutely horrible, and I'd be miserable too, but the blame lies with one entity only: the weather.

iora_rua

Got our power back early afternoon in a rural off the road location, with a number of trees having fallen on the line. Did have to chase for a repair crew to come to our aid, but the main problem was that only a few of our neighbours had bothered to report any fault, so we were all at the bottom of the queue! The ESB are not telepathic - each household in a given area needs to log the fault, or the operator just presumes that you're the only one affected, so you have to wait ... and wait!!!

Anyway, when the crew arrived, they did a great job very quickly - a mix of local ESB folk and a group from Norn Iron who got through the offending trees in jig time. So four not very pleasant days ended at last. Thank you ESB from one happy customer !

LoonyLovegood

I'll try find the photo, I think it was posted on twitter, but a piece of machinery they were using had literally just sunk down a hill. They're doing fantastic work, and getting around to it as quickly as possible.

Of course, if Ireland had proper planning laws and we didn't have so many damn one off houses around the place (excluding farms and the like, obviously), it'd have been fixed far sooner.

EDIT: Found it! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BgmjVQ0CIAABqaE.jpg:large

Stavros Murphy

Plates wrote: »

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

Feck off out in your parka and show them how to do it.

The ESB have a reputation internationally as being one of the best in the business, as it happens.

Freddy Smelly

Amprodude wrote: »

Come down off your high horse. Its ok for you because you arent without power and can enjoy the benefits of having it back again. For me and im sure is the same for some others are without power since 12.30pm last Wednesday and was told that it could take until Tuesday this week to fix. Its unacceptable in this modern era. We can do without power for 1-2 days but it becomes frustrating then. Main problem is there arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems too many cutbacks when they badly needed and becsuse i live in the middle of nowhere im going to have to wait. I have rang them numerous times but nothing they can do apparantely. No water, no heat, no cooking no washing and no light you can see why the average person in this situation is pissed off.

high horse???? you expect someone to risk their & their families' lively hood to stand up on a pole trying to restore power with high voltage lines in gale force winds just so you can have electricity???? cop on. safety first man safety first!!!!!! you wouldnt get up on a ladder to wash the windows in gale force winds so why expect others to have to fix high voltage line in gale force winds.

end of the road

Amprodude wrote: »

Come down off your high horse. Its ok for you because you arent without power and can enjoy the benefits of having it back again. For me and im sure is the same for some others are without power since 12.30pm last Wednesday and was told that it could take until Tuesday this week to fix. Its unacceptable in this modern era. We can do without power for 1-2 days but it becomes frustrating then. Main problem is there arent enough of the esb crew around to fix problems too many cutbacks when they badly needed and becsuse i live in the middle of nowhere im going to have to wait. I have rang them numerous times but nothing they can do apparantely. No water, no heat, no cooking no washing and no light you can see why the average person in this situation is pissed off.

1. i live in the middle of nowhere so i know what it can be like when the power goes out.
2. i had my power go 2 nights in a row, probably switched off so repairs could be carried out on part of the line, guess what, better that happen then it be left on and someone be electricuted while fixing it.
3. i don't know have staff been cut in the ESB apart from retirements however either way fixing such a complicated and large system will take time even if only part of it goes down

Peregrine

sawdoubters wrote: »

if the esb was privatized like some politicians are talking about ,the wait for repairs will take longer

I don't think there were any plans to privatise ESB Networks?

Freddy Smelly

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

I don't think there were any plans to privatise ESB Networks?

esb is about the only profitable company the gov own why would they sell it?

end of the road

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

esb is about the only profitable company the gov own why would they sell it?

political gain? much of the public are deluded that private sector = good, efficient and cheep, while public sector = bad, expensive, inefficient, and overstaffed. of course such privatization was done in britain for those exact reasons but it has more or less backfired from what i can see but no government has the balls to renationalize for the simple reason their could be donations at stake?

Victor

Plates wrote: »

From recent news reports there are 60,000 houses without power in Ireland. By comparison there are 140,000 in the UK.

Given that the population of the UK is approximately 14 times that of Ireland, it begs the question, are ESB networks doing enough? Or maybe there's an issue with the standard of construction of the network in the first place?

But the British network isn't 14 times the size of the Irish one - people in Britain live so much closer to each other on average. You would expect much fewer faults in urban areas - less exposed and fewer overhead lines.

Republic of Ireland, Area 70,273 km²
United Kingdom, Area 243,610 km²

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

esb is about the only profitable company the gov own why would they sell it?

Amprodude

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

high horse???? you expect someone to risk their & their families' lively hood to stand up on a pole trying to restore power with high voltage lines in gale force winds just so you can have electricity???? cop on. safety first man safety first!!!!!! you wouldnt get up on a ladder to wash the windows in gale force winds so why expect others to have to fix high voltage line in gale force winds.

Today is Monday not last Wednesday when the storm occurred. Nobody expected esb to go standing poles the day of storm but i did expect them to have power restored by today and i still dont have power so obviously im not one bit happy.

Amprodude

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

It is absolutely horrible, and I'd be miserable too, but the blame lies with one entity only: the weather.

Trees that pose a danger to esb lines should be cut down well in advance of a storm. Some fallen trees cant be prevented and some fallen lines cant but vast majority could be advoided if lines were maintained properly and nearby trees that have potential for damage cut down before a storm does it. Simple measures.

Amprodude

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

It is absolutely horrible, and I'd be miserable too, but the blame lies with one entity only: the weather.

Trees that pose a danger to esb lines should be cut down well in advance of a storm. Some fallen trees cant be prevented and some fallen lines cant but vast majority could be advoided if lines were maintained properly and nearby trees that have potential for damage cut down before a storm does it. Simple measures.