Letter: What can be done about power outages in Montara?

Once again, two people exhaled at the same time, and the power went out again on the dark side of Montara.  For those of you outside the immediate area, the dark side of Montara is anything east of Birch Street, extending almost as far as Etheldore Street in Moss Beach.  My wife has lived here for over 30 years, and she says its always been like this.  The power goes out between 4 and 12 times every season, often for no discernable reason.  We can look across the lots in front of us, and one block to the east on Birch Street, the power is ALWAYS on when ours is out.

So far, it’s been out four times this season, including about 22 out of 26 hours from 6:15PM on Tuesday, December 26 to 10:00 PM December 27.  Tonight, January 3, it went out for 45 minutes, with no sign of rain or wind anywhere around this home.

I’d like to know more about what the problem is.  Is it always the same place, or are there multiple places around the wooded areas where branches keep knocking the trees down?

I read other stories from earlier in the year about hearings being held, and nothing being done, as usual.  I wrote a letter to the PUC after the Dec 26-27 fiasco, but what else can we do?

Is there anyone in the community with the energy to take this on?  I’ve been working on the stormwater drainage problem, and that’s as much as I can or want to take on.

Is there enough community will to raise enough hell to get somebody’s attention?  Or do we each head to Home Depot, each get a generator, and each add our little bit to global warming?

Stephen Lowens