A power pole on Wagner Way was reportedly struck by lightning during a storm in Washington Court House some time ago. There were five trucks on scene with multiple workers. Two trucks used leveling stabilizers to steady the trucks so the buckets could be raised to wire heights carrying the electricians.
Gail Allen | R-H photo
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — It is a specialized job, utilizing trained and talented electrical employees, to change a power pole.
A power pole on Wagner Way was reportedly struck by lightning during a storm some time ago. It was reported to AES and a large black burned spot was visible on the pole.
A large truck first appears to dig the deep hole where the power pole will be located. Then AES crews are on scene to bring the new pole and raise it, filling in gravel and dirt around the base.
There were five trucks on scene this week with multiple workers. Two trucks used leveling stabilizers to steady the trucks so the buckets could be raised to wire heights carrying the electricians.
The supervisor on site said the workers are able to transfer all the live wires from the old pole to the new pole using rubber gloves, reacher-poles and cutting tools while not disrupting the electricity to nearby housing units that received their service from that pole.
All the old connector fuses were removed and new equipment attached to the new pole within a couple hours. All wires were transferred without incident. The top of the pole was then cut off, leaving the rest of the pole in place until the affected cable company arrives to transfer their lines from pole to pole. There is a Spectrum cable distribution box located on the nearby pole and after these wires are transferred to the new pole, AES will return and remove the entire old pole from the ground and fill in the hole in the ground, according to the supervisor in charge.
These electricians working in raised buckets must be extra cautious moving about due to the wires they get close to, and the guy-wire newly placed in the ground to stabilize the new pole.
When asked about response time for AES to this area in case of emergencies of any fire or electrical problems, he said they are dispatched out of Xenia, but they have about a 20 minute ETA for immediate fire response with crew members available closer to Washington Court House when needed.
