The power blew through surge protectors like they weren't even there. Power surge leaves residents without appliances UPPER PROVIDENCE TWP, Pa. June 9 - A power surge to some Delaware County homes blew out peoples appliances and electronic equipment. They are battling to have PECO pay for the damage.

UP TO FIFTY homes were hit with the power surge Friday morning and the cost keeps adding up. All of a sudden the outlets started making noises and popping, said Upper Providence Township resident Mary Stevenson. The telephone was crackling so I thought Id get out fast. That crackling was the sound of tens of thousands of volts of electricity surging through the house.

It was really scary, Stevenson said. It was enough to blow out microwaves, televisions, and computers all around the neighborhood. I lost a television, a PC, and the kids Nintendo, said resident Steve Butt. PECO says a tree fell on a high voltage line knocking it into a low voltage line. That sent a rush of electricity to forty or fifty homes. The power blew through surge protectors like they werent even there. It didnt blow out the surge protector, but it didnt protect the equipment, Butt said. It went through the surge protector. Some neighbors say they lost up to $100 thousand worth of electronic equipment. PECO says those neighbors should call their homeowners insurance company because it was an act of God.

I think they should hold part of the responsibility anyway, Stevenson said. It wasnt their fault the tree came down, but after all, a lot of people have lost a lot of valuable materials.

PECO says it trimmed the trees where the accident happened last December. They say they are only responsible if the surge is related to something that should have been protected by PECO. They recommend that homeowners get whole-house surge protectors.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wcau/49645.asp

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 11, 2000