[SMCARA] SMECO Power Outages

[Dave Q]

Jim, SMECO has an app (SMECO 24/7), at least for iPhone and most likely for
Android.

You can report an outage, look at where the outages are, pay your bill and
get your yard mowed all from the app. :)  Reporting works well and there is
somewhat of a status for each outage.  I've notified them of several
outages and their estimates of completing have been within a half hour.
YMMV

Right now there are two outages in St. Mary's.  One near California with 8
customers affected that started an 9:11 am.  They are assessing the
condition and status is that the crew is working.  The second is in Abel
with 1 customer affected at 9:25 am.  Estimated Restoration is today at
12:13 pm.  The crew is working.  Another just popped up around Loveville.
It was caused by CONDUCTOR FAILURE with crew working and expected fix by
12:33 pm.

Not the same as listening but at lest you can get some information to help
know when to start the generator.  They will also send an email when they
think your power has been restored which you can report if it hasn't been.
That helps me because I have no neighbors close enough to see lights at
night an during the day I had to disconnect the generator, close in the
mains and see if the lights came back on.

--Dave  W3DLQ

On Mon, Aug 8, 2016 at 10:07 AM, Jim <wieldtjr at md.metrocast.net> wrote:

> We had our power off for about 2 hours Saturday night.  I went to the
> effort of calling it in when it first went off as is our duty as users.  As
> is my usual thing, I lay awake wondering when I should get dressed and go
> out and fire up my generator since It is there for a reason.  Mostly to
> keep refrigerators and freezers going.  Since I am in the dark (pun
> intended) about the status of the outage, my mind turned in another
> direction and I wondered if I could listen in on their work crew radio
> traffic.
>
> When the power came back on, I looked up their radio station and they
> operate on 158.145 Mhz.  I can dial in that frequency  on my Yaesu FT-60R
> and did so and have left it on to listen in.
>
> Either my HT is kidding me about what I can and can’t do or possibly
> SMECO’s comm encrypted.   My HT gets the whole 2m and 70cm bands as well as
> the weather channels which are several Mhz higher in the low 160’.
>
> Anyone have any ideas.  I guess I could call SMECO and ask but that would
> be tacky.  I will go with the notion that it is encrypted which would also
> serve to prevent interlopers from asking the repair crews questions.
>
> Jim  KC3WJA
>
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
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