Residents, Trustees Take ComEd To Task

The recent storms and resulting power outages are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the frustration Northbrook residents feel with ComEd.

Following a presentation by ComEd representative Michael Guerra at Tuesday night’s village board meeting, one homeowner after another took the utility to task. The overwhelming sentiment: there’s an ongoing problem with the electrical infrastructure in Northbrook. 

“I am really fed up with no power,” said Thomas Gledhill, a resident of Crabtree Lane. He said he sustained $25,000 in damages after his sump pump failed during the most recent outage. Gledhill also noted that the houses on the east side of his street were always the ones that lost power, while the ones on the west side remained lit—indicating what he believed was an underlying infrastructure problem.

Earlier: 

“I can’t tell you how much money we’ve lost in food and other items in these power outages over the years,” said Bill Salter, a resident of Oak Avenue. “I can’t go to work every day wondering about the weather or the heat and whether the power’s going to go out.”

Salter was one of several residents of Oak Avenue who came to the meeting. All said that power outages were an issue that had been going on for years on their street, not just during the recent storms.

“When there’s a slight wind, our power goes out,” said John Amidei, another Oak Avenue resident. “Oak Avenue always has problems. We’re wondering when it’s going to be repaired.” 

Guerra’s presentation focused on statistics, namely how many customers were affected by each of three recent storms. During the June 21 storm, , according to Guerra. During a June 30 storm, 579 customers lost power, and during a July 11 storm, .

“That’s probably the biggest storm we’ve ever dealt with,” Guerra said. “That’s really the largest restoration we’ve ever done.”

He noted that ComEd deployed 1,100 crews in that restoration effort, dealt with 443 downed or displaced poles and used 77.8 miles of wire and cable to repair power lines. 

“Follow up is very important to us,” he said.

Trustees, however, said that Guerra’s presentation did not cover their real concerns.

“It doesn’t address the core issues,” said Trustee James Karagianis. “The truth is, our service in Northbrook has not been good for a long time.”  

“You did a great job of stating the obvious,” he continued. “This is more of a PR report than it is a scientific report of your financial commitment to the infrastructure and benchmarking that financial commitment against other superior utilities in the United States.” 

Karagianis’ comments were met with loud claps from the audience.

Trustee A.C. Buehler noted that along with ComEd, the village had studied electrical issues in the area several years ago, with the intent to improve the infrastructure. But, he said, the utility had failed to deliver on the commitment it made then. 

“I kept getting questions on, ‘Where are the ComEd trucks?’ during the crisis,” said Trustee Michael Scolaro. “Where are the ComEd trucks now?...They’re not out there fixing our infrastructure, they’re simply being responsive.” 

Trustee Katherine Ciesla, who owns a Northbrook business, added that the outages affected not just individual homeowners but businesses as well. 

“The fact that our Skokie Boulevard corridor, downtown Northbrook, Willow Festival, Sky Harbor, is out for days, is atrocious,” she said, adding that Sunset Foods had to throw out five dumpsters of food after the June 21 outage. for more than three days after that outage.

“If you have businesses that are out for three days, that is a tremendous disservice to the community,” she said.

“It has to be built into the program that you are continually replacing, upgrading, to give your customers the best possible products,” said Trustee Robert Israel. “It’s a monopoly. You must be committed to serving us.” 

Village President Sandra Frum, who after the first outage in June, advised residents to contact their state representatives and senators to express their concerns. 

“We can be the conduit, but they’re the ones that regulate,” she said. “They’re hear to here from you.”

Several local politicians will be holding forums with ComEd:

State Sen. Susan Garrett (D)

10 a.m.-noon, Thursday, July 28
Lake Forest Municipal Services Building, 800 N. Field Drive, Lake Forest 

State Rep. Daniel Biss (D):

7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1
Glenview Police Station, 2500 East Lake, Glenview

State Rep. Karen May (D)

10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16
Highland Park Country Club, 1201 Park Ave West, Highland Park

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