Bill Archer
For The Register-Herald
Bluefiled —
IAEGER — People flowed into the Iaeger High School gymnasium and frustration poured out as scores of people put their thoughts on record during a West Virginia Public Service Commission public hearing on the power outage in southern West Virginia.
Nearly three months have passed since thousands of West Virginians survived the nightmare of a dark Christmas, but the memories seemed fresh and vivid for many of the people who were powerless following the Dec. 18 snowstorm that knocked down power lines in the region and blocked highways for days.
“I was without power for 11 days,” Tiffany Bailey said. “I was without a telephone for 13 days. They said, ‘Well, did you call it in to us?’ None of my neighbors had power either ... from Bull Creek to Panther and Iaeger.”
Dale Lee, a native of Ikes Fork, Wyoming County, who now lives in Princeton, made an eloquent presentation on behalf of his father, David Lee, who was among the thousands who lived for a time without electricity.
“Coming from Ikes Fork, I know how difficult it is every day,” Lee said. “These people have major problems.”
Lee explained that although people of Wyoming and McDowell counties built the wealth of West Virginia by laboring in the coal mines, now “they are treated like red-headed stepchildren,” he said.
“It’s time that our voices be heard,” Lee said. He said that even without electricity, his father’s electric bill increased by $100 during the month he was without power for nine days.
“This country has grown on the backs of these people,” Lee said. “It’s time to give them the services they deserve.”
PSC Chairman Michael A. Albert provided a detailed explanation of the purpose of the hearing and said he would share the feelings of the people with Appalachian Power Co. officials when they come to the PSC to request a rate increase later this month.
Albert said that the PSC had earlier hearings in Clarksburg last week and at Logan earlier this week, but added later that he thought the crowd at IHS was the largest of the three. There were 417 people in the bleachers along with dozens more in the hallway and outside the building.
Other PSC staff members spoke, telling the audience that they really wanted to learn from them what caused the power outages, the difficulties they faced and how the utility responded to the situation.
Byron L. Harris, director of the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division, said the agency has already examined the event. “What we can’t know in our offices in Charleston is what happened on the ground here,” Harris said.
Robert Addair of Upper Litwar said during the days his power was off in December, “that was the highest my juice bill has ever been,” he said. “Juice” is a colloquial term for electricity. “If you live where I live, if it’s a cloudy day, the power will go off.”
Albert also opened the floor to state legislators present. Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, pointed out that many people in southern West Virginia experience problems with utilities. “You don’t have to have a snowstorm to have the power go off,” Chafin said.
Chafin said that in his opinion, Apco doesn’t have enough staff in the region.
Sen. John Pat Fanning, D-McDowell, said he was in the county and “made it through with a little heater.” He expressed his thought that while Apco contract crews clear vegetation from the power lines along U.S. 52, “these lines up the hollows don’t look good,” he said. He also expressed concerns that the high power bills may prompt elderly people to do without medicine to pay their utility bills.
Ray Bailey, president of the McDowell County Commission, admonished local legislators for not introducing legislation to block Apco rate increases.
Several others put their comments on record. Gordon Lambert, also a member of the McDowell County Commission, said the storm “may have been a blessing” because it may prompt action on the region’s electrical service problems. “We’ve been having problems with AEP, how long?” Lambert asked of the audience. Hundreds of people shouted in unison: “Years!” Lambert paused, turned back to Albert and said, “Years,” and added: “Folks, don’t let this stop.”
— Bill Archer is
a member of the Bluefield
Daily Telegraph editorial staff.
