[scandalli]

Hello:
I live in the mountains in Evergreen, Jefferson County, Colorado and have a dangerous power situation on my hands (3 small fires over the last 12 months). The step-down transformer at the power pole runs overhead wire to the meter at the outside of my home and then to the power distribution panel inside my garage. A very standard installation for private property up here.
The pole is not situated within a few feet from curb side as is the case with all other properties up and down my street. Instead, it is way back on my land, surrounded by trees. The trees are all safely cut back.

We have had three fires resulting in two prolonged power outages in the area, and one total loss of the transformer by lightening a few months ago. We were lucky to have been home all three times. Normally we travel a lot.

I have asked Excel, our electrical power company, to please move the fire hazard my relocating the pole w. transformer out of the forest and near the road. The have refused to do so and think that all they should do is cut the trees back even further. There have been at least two fires at the pole that were caused by lightening. Sparks and glowing debris were flying in a circle of approx. 30 feet. With just a little bit of wind they could have been carried for a hundred feet or more.

I do not have the funds to have the power company relocate the pole at my expense. So, here is my question?

Can I dig a trench, lay 2" PVC and heavy cable, say 4/0 copper (or less expensive material if code allows) and run the line under ground to the house? I grew up among electricians and have wired a whole house short of turning things on since I am not licensed. I know I can do the job, but would I be allowed to do so? Or could I do the job with the help of a licensed electrician but do all the grunt work myself? I really don't want to reward my power company for their refusal to help me correct a very dangerous situation by giving them the order to do the job at their premium pricing.
What should I do? Any ideas are appreciated. Safety and cost are my only concerns.

Thanks
Scandalli

[donf]

Have you contacted your Local Authority Having Jurisdiction or a Fire Marshall to have the situation inspected?

Power Companies do not follow the NEC they have their own set of codes. As such they also have electrical inspectors, have you been able to speak with on of those folks.

Whenever you see sparks you can bet they are made up of molten metal, so my immediate question to the power company would be to prove that the pole was properly grounded.

Of course they could come back and tell you to clear the trees away from the pole, but in either case the ligation from a fire would seriously eclipse the costs of correcting the problem.

I'm also curious as to why this pole seems to be a magnet for lightning. Although I have seen repetitive strikes of lighting hit the same object before.

I'm sure TK can provide much more insights on this.

[tkrussell]

Running the feed to the home underground does not relocate the pole with transformer.

You do need to consult with both the utility and local inspector to learn if you can do your own work, esp on the utility feed. Getting an electrician to permit the job and you do the grunt work will be up to a contractor that agrees to do a deal such as this.

Don is correct, that the utility pole and transformer needs to be grounded properly.

If you have a dispute with the local utility, you can consult with your state's public utility commission, all utilities in your state are regulated by this agency.

Power utilities are usually very open to preventing problems such as fire.

[scandalli]

Thanks so much. What I am proposing is to run HV power to a new transformer on the ground near the road and from there to the house underground. Xcell says it's too far from the road edge to the house for an overhead installation.

[Missouri Bound]

Are you saying you want to bring the utility lines underground to a new locationi..? That will not be allowed to be done except by the utility company.