Town Officials Meet with Senior Officials of Eversource to discuss results of "Triangle" Service Reliability Study
On Thursday, October 25th Town Officials including Town Administrator Michael Boynton, Police Chief Allen Tingley, Fire Chief Jeffrey Lynch, DPS Director Dave D'Amico, Asst. Director Barry Smith and Communications Director Sandy Johnston met with senior officials of Eversource to discuss the results of the service reliability study the town requested regarding a series of recent power outages in the so-called "Triangle" area of Medway. This part of Town, located primarily in the Northeast quadrant of Medway (along with parts of neighboring Holliston and Millis), have seen greater than normal outage incidents. We are very pleased to report that Eversource responded very quickly to our calls for review of the matter, and has identified immediate repairs and improvements along the path of Circuit 65-H5 that they will implement beginning next week, including equipment upgrades and tree work. The Eversource team has committed to working with us on this topic and will udpate Medway officials along the way. We are appreciative of the efforts of Eversource leaders and crews and look forward to a continued outstanding working relationship as these improvements are implemented.
The results of the reliability study are as follows:
65-H5 Outage drivers (two-year history):
87% of outages were caused by trees/limbs. Oak trees in the area of the study were determined to be dying due to the effects of gypsy moths and the 2016 drought.
7% of outages were caused by Vehicle Accidents.
5% of outages were caused by equipment failure.
1% of outages were caused by animals/birds.
65-H5 - 2018 Major Outages
- 08/08/18 - Tree limb P23/33 Norfolk Street
- 09/25/18 - Tree Limb P23/37 Norfolk Street
- 09/26/18 - Tree Limb P23/36 Norfolk Street
- 10/16/18 - Tree limb P23/30 Norfolk Street
Circuit 65-H5 Improvement Plan
Performed Comprehensive Circuit Patrol:-
On October 10th Eversource performed a comprehensive circuit patrol.
Personnel from Engineering, Electric Service and Vegetation management.
Any emergent issues identified were addressed.
Tree Removals:
This is an ongoing issue due to unprecendented tree mortality rate.
Oak trees in the area are dying due to effects of gypsy moths and 2016 drought.
300 trees have already been removed over the past two years.
50 additional trees were identified as part of the October 10th review.
Removals to start on November 1st.
Upgrade Manual Switches to Automated Switches:
The switches will increase the ability to automatically sectionalize faults and restore customers.
New switch locations:
- Pole 23/74 Norfolk Street, Holliston
- Pole 30/93 Highland Street, Holliston
Install smart fuses on all large side taps to reduce the number of momentary outages on the entire circuit.