Back to top
For immediate release
June 30, 2009 at 2:51pm
For more information, contact
Phil Steyer, 762-4766 (desk) 242-1417 (cell)

Another cut power pole discovered

A survey crew working on a road project on Monday, June 29 discovered another transmission pole that someone had cut with a chain saw. The structure is owned by Chugach Electric Association and supports a pair of important circuits south of Tudor Road. The sawn pole was a short distance west of Tudor Centre Drive, in an area where crews are doing a considerable amount of work in conjunction with the construction of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and related roads and trails.

Chugach crews responded, and temporary repairs to strengthen the pole until it can be replaced were completed. The pole carries two sets of power lines that tie to Chugach’s nearby University Substation. One circuit is energized at 138 kilovolts and provides a link between two of Chugach’s transmission substations. The second circuit is energized at 34.5 kilovolts and feeds power to Chugach’s Dowling Substation which serves 7,600 metered locations.

Cut Pole Foreground

It wasn’t possible to determine just when the damage was caused. It may or may not have been related to incidents of pole cutting on both the Chugach and Anchorage Municipal Light & Power systems in May 2007. The pole had been cut at least halfway through, and the part that wasn’t cut had begun to crack.

Chugach is grateful to the surveyors who found and reported the vandalism. The damage was discovered by Greg Boyd and Justin Jurica of LanTech about 10:30 a.m. Monday They spotted it while working on an extension of bike trail. Recent clearing near the pole made the damage easier to spot than it would have been before the project started.

Cut Pole Temporarily Repaired

 

Anyone sighting damage to an electric system should report it to their utility immediately.

Chugach is the largest electric utility in Alaska, providing power for Alaskans throughout the Railbelt through retail, wholesale and economy energy sales.

APD Press Release - May 11, 2007

May 15, 2007 - APD and Chugach Electric say thanks