Monday’s power failure marks the ninth 20-second outage on Geneva’s west side since June first. And there was nary a cloud in the sky nor any wind to speak of when it happened. We did have two sustained blackouts on the 15th and 16th, but there was some pretty nasty weather involved in those, particularly that Sunday.
That said, the Monday evening weather wasn’t nearly as bad but ComEd still managed to completely fumble it by keeping us in the dark for 4.5 long hours. That was the longest electrical lapse since we moved to Geneva 27 years ago.
Either way you slice it, if you do the division, it comes out to at least one outage every five summer days. And let’s not forget that, when I said “at least one” I was referring to how those smaller disruptions tend to come in multiples of two or more, the record currently sitting at eight in one day.
Despite meandering this third rock from the sun for almost 66 years, I’ve never experienced anything quite like the Geneva power utility.
Though I’m really good at it, my point here isn’t to bitch about what I’ve already endlessly bitched about. No! It’s to describe the insidious dynamic that aids and abets these persistent power outages. The truth is, aside from yours truly, there’s no incentive on either side – the City or ComEd – to make an effort to resolve the issue.
To be sure we’re on the same page, per the previous mention, the City of Geneva owns and operates its own electric utility which purchases power from ComEd at wholesale rates. The standard contract stipulates that, when it comes to outages and other electrical issues, wholesale municipalities move to the front of the repair line.
But when you consider ComEd’s capacity to bend, break, or simply ignore the rules, I wouldn’t be putting too much stock in that contract clause anytime soon. A 4.5-hour power outage would clearly indicate that Geneva ain’t a priority.
Of course, the monopoly’s singular goal is to raise rates and make more money, which has become a far more daunting proposition since those formerly rubber stamp Illinois regulators have grown a pair. With the ComEd Four (and Darth Madigan) headed to the pokey, the utility’s recent rate hike requests have suddenly been shot down.
Unless it involves them directly , bribery scandals tend to leave a bad taste in our legislators’ mouths.
Now humbled, ComEd has simply shifted their strategy to tub-thumping infrastructure improvements, and what better way to provide proof of their necessity than to have a slew of surly citizens bitching about persistent short power failures. Put more simply, as long as they don’t go too far, the utility has no fiscal motive to keep the power on.
Speaking of incentives, according to one Geneva insider, ComEd despises village-owned utilities because those wholesale rates don’t add up to nearly as much revenue as charging Genevans directly. And again, what better way to undermine the Geneva utility than by making them appear unduly prone to an unending series of minor outages. I’m not saying they’re doing it on purpose, but I am saying there’s no incentive (there’s that word again) for ComEd to be mildly proactive in this regard.
To wit, I’ve certainly considered my outage chronicling penchant as potential complicity in that regard, but along those “Methinks the City doth protest too much” lines, why is the west side bearing the brunt of these power failures? Does ComEd really have it in for only Fisher Farms? Methinks Geneva isn’t nearly the innocent bystander they claim to be in this regard.
That all adds up to another last place finish for we regular folks in the labyrinthian government/utility monopoly race to the bottom.
But here’s the thing. If someone of my limited intelligence (my readers tell me this) can unravel this dynamic, then at least one Geneva administrator should be able to apply a similar deductive reasoning. That means I find it difficult to believe that the City didn’t know exactly what they were getting into with this arrangement, not the least of which was that ComEd would be a rather recalcitrant electrical partner.
But instead of holding the utility’s feet to the fire, another government source told me the mayor, the city council, and the city manager have thrown up their hands and waved the white flag. They have called ComEd reps on the carpet a number of times, only to have them issue another round of platitudes and excuses with no subsequent improvement. Apparently that effort was far too much for our delicate little darlings.
According to the same source, the City’s hypothesis is, “Well, we can’t do anything about it,” so why bother?.” And that’s exactly where my double standard flakes get frosted.
Long before I became this not-quite-Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist, I realized the only way to put a dent in the corporate hive mentality is to be a big enough pain in the ass that it becomes easier to do the right thing than it is to ignore me. It’s the whole squeaky wheel thing.
Someday I’ll tell you the story of how I got State Farm to pay for new locks on my mother’s old Honda Accord. But Geneva refuses to take that kind of ComEd step.
Meanwhile, our brand spanking new code enforcer just sent city pickup truck number 4121 scurrying down every last Fisher Farms street to ferret out any resident foolish enough to start a home improvement project without the requisite permit.* I’m sure that, just like Geneva loves to give ComEd a pass, the City’s going to let those fine errant folks slide, too.
Not to mention their generous capacity to forgive electric bill late payment fees.
So, here’s the bottom line,
The only way ComEd is going to improve the current Geneva situation is if Mayor Burns, City Manager Dawkins, and the city council apply the same standard to themselves they regularly apply to us. And if that means withholding payment, suing ComEd for failure to perform, going to state regulators, and getting local Springfield legislators involved, then so be it. Because until and unless they take those necessary steps, I’ll write about every f*cking power outage until they do. Rest assured, as my wife likes to say, I’m the biggest pain in the ass there is.
Fix it Geneva!
* Author’s Note:
If you really want to catch those scurrilous permit-less Genevans in the act, sending a truck out to ply the subdivision streets isn’t going to get you very far. I’m not gonna be a narc and explain what my strategy would be, but it would be exponentially more effective. If any of my long-time readers are interested, please reach out to me privately and I’ll be happy to explain.
