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From: rfc@briar.Philips.Com (Robert Casey)
Newsgroups: rec.ham-radio,sci.electronics
Subject: Powerline voltage too high, power co working on it
Keywords: 128V!
Message-ID: <114172@philabs.Philips.Com>
Date: 5 Dec 90 03:37:19 GMT
Sender: news@philabs.Philips.Com
Lines: 47

I've had a little adventure with the powerline voltage at my parent's
house.  About 6 weeks ago, I was at my parents', and for some reason, I
measured the powerline.  (Now I remember, an old powerline volt monitor
meter I had in the hamshack room seemed to be reading high.  Must be
broken, get out a good digital meter to check the voltage.  Oh, 128V!
That meter is not broken.  tried another digital meter, got the same
thing.)  Told my father, who is also a ham.  
Called the power company (your standard generic "Public Service Electric and
Gas").  "No don't want to talk to billing Dept.  Ah, guess I want the line to
"downed wires, and other such".  Talking to phone answering person:  "I think
my power voltage is too high."  "What's too high?"  "The voltage, it's a few
volts too high"  "Duh, well, we'll send some guys out to check out the, ah,
what did you call it?"  "the voltage in my house". 
About a week later, a power company person with a Fluke multimeter visits, and
takes the circuit breaker panel off and measures the lines.  "yes, you're
right, it is too high.  What kind of meter did you use?  That's just like the
ones we use.  Must be some bad capacitors on our distribution net.  Have to
check out the substation."  Somehow, the guy broke one of the circuit
breakers in the panel.  Company says that they'll pay for a replacement.
Guy leaves, a few hours later, calls.  "try measuring the voltage"  "Still too
high, 127V."  "Found some bad caps, must be more bad ones.  This is gonna take
us a while to get this figured out"
About 4 weeks later, two guys from the power company pay a visit.  They go to
their kilowatt-hour meter in the basement.  "We are gonna take the cover off
the meter box and measure the voltage from the street.  gotta break this old
porcelain seal".  So, they break their power security seal, the one they use
to keep you from cheating on the electric bill.  They measure the voltage,
128V.  "We're gonna try a house across the street".  Did that, same reading.
"gonna check the stuff on the distribution net some more, looks like a tough
one to fix."  "Don't you have to replace your seal?"  "Naw.  We'll be back in
a few days to take another measurement, takes too long to seal it just to
remove it again.  we trust that you're not gonna steal power".  Next day, one
of them returns, takes another measurement, still too high.  "I'm gonna have
your local pole transformer re-tapped to reduce your line.  I removed some caps
off the net, but I can't take too many off, or else the other end of town will
have too low voltage.  We like to set the voltage at 120V at houses."  He puts
a new seal on the meter in the basement.  My father said that he haden't seen
the insides of the meter box since 40 years ago, when the house was built.

Guess I made the power company guys spend a few weeks work on this.
It's not over, yet.  About a year ago, I smelled gas next to a mailbox
on the streetcorner.  Told the gas company, and saw them drilling holes
in the ground throughout the neighborhood for weeks looking for the
leak.

I suppose all the neighbors are wondering why their light bulbs don't seem to
last as long as they used to.  :-


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