Repairs to Your Home’s Electrical System: What’s a homeowner’s responsibility?

Imagine a severe storm knocking out the power to your home. Or, you experience an electrical power surge. Afterwards, you find damage to the electrical meter and other electrical service components that bring electricity from the cooperative’s lines into your home.

You report your outage and the equipment damage. A Blue Ridge Energy technician arrives to make repairs. He makes repairs to the power line to your home, then informs you that before a new meter can be installed, the damaged electrical equipment attached to your home must be repaired — by you as the homeowner and owner of the equipment.

While the meter itself is the cooperative’s equipment and responsibility, homeowners are responsible for repairs to certain pieces of equipment attached to a home: See the graphic above that specifies which equipment attached to your home is a homeowner’s responsibility.

They include:

• Weatherhead and service mast equipment, including the hood-shaped cap located at the top of a metal pipe that connects your home with the co-op’s service lines.
• Wiring in and around your home, including the lines leading from the meter and wires connecting the weatherhead to the meter.
• Meter box and equipment, including the enclosure that houses and protects the meter, along with the meter socket that attaches the meter to your home. The connected service panel is also the homeowner’s responsibility.

Many homeowners don’t realize it’s their responsibility to maintain, repair or replace these home electrical components — until it becomes a necessary out-of-pocket expense. And even with homeowners insurance, these costs may not be covered.

Service disruptions do happen. What should you do if you experience damage to the electrical equipment around your home?

Take these steps:

• Have a licensed electrician inspect the electrical equipment mentioned above to ensure everything is in good working condition.
• Check with your insurance agent or company to see what electrical repairs your policy covers. If needed, there are optional, affordable programs to help protect you from expenses related to damaged electrical equipment.
• Protect your sensitive electronics and appliances from electrical surges by plugging them into a surge protector.

Be aware. Be prepared.