Power Line Noise and Passing the $

[W7KKK]

Wow. I am just starting to see the frustration that many of my fellow hams have gone through with power line noises.
A year ago when I moved I found myself in a location with lots of noise on 10-80 meters coming in via my antenna. I had been fortunate up until this move and never had such problems.
I traced the problems down to the power lines and had it verified with the help of the local club.
I filed, or tried to file, a complaint with the power company. Nothing heard from them after many contacts by me for months.
So I called the FCC who referred me to the ARRL (pass the $) who in turn offered to send a letter to the power company. I had already done that~ I was also told this could take a very long time to fix so I just sold out.
But wait! Some months later, 9 months after I filed to complaint with the power company to be exact, they send their "RFI Investigator" to my home.
I took him out and showed him the offending locations and extent of the problems and he said he would put in work orders to have this all fixed. He said it was just loose hardware.
Some months later I recreated my station again only to find the noise still there. The power company RFI guy does not answer his emails requesting information about status of repairs.
So I contacted the ARRL again and they told me to file a formal complaint with the utility!
Wow, I thought I did that a year ago. I was in the Army or working for DoD most of my life and I know well what a circle jerk is and I don't like it one bit.
It appears that the FCC, which under the law has enforcement abilities, has passed the responsibility on to the ARRL to try to force some kind of compliance. And yet after a year I am not one bit better off for my efforts to get this problem resolved.
I dare not operate for fear of covering up weaker stations that fall under the substantial noise levels as I would never be able to hear them.
This is frustrating to say the least and I am just starting to understand what many have been through.

[N5PVL]

I had a similar problem that originated from a faulty power line transformer. After years of zero action and getting jerked around, I was saved by an anonymous vandal who put a high-powered rifle round into the offending transformer, late one night. The power company came out and replaced it with a new one, abating the noise problem at last.

[K4KYV]

At the Dayton FCC Forum last year, Laura Smith stated that power line noise and uncooperative utility companies was going to be one of their priority enforcement issues. Have you tried contacting her directly?

Here, the power co. will promptly fix a noise problem if I chase it down and find it for them and lead the repair crew by the hand to the exact spot where the problem exists, but they haven't a clue how to track it down on their own.

[W7KKK]

No, I have not tried her directly.
But in Feb one of the attorneys I talked to on staff told me emphatically that I must proceed with the ARRL complaint first, which I did, only to find out that they were going to send a letter.
As I had already done that myself I gave up.
This time I am proceeding with the protocol as required and I have just typed the letter to the CEO of the Company notifying him of my efforts and results so far after a year and it will be sent with a return receipt attached.
So for now I will play the never ending game and perhaps be forced to push that reset button and move from this rental to another area down the road.
My wife does not like the idea, but she also understands my frustration with the matter.

[KD5PME]

I am not an expert on this, but I would go ahead with the ARRL letter. They definitely carry more weight than an individual.

[W7KKK]

I am now following the advice of the ARRL RFI folks and filing a formal complaint with the utility per their directions.
If that does no good I contact the ARRL again.

[KB3LIX]

The process for me has been:

File the written complaint with the utility.
(Phone complaints go NO WHERE, it MUST be in writing)

Then,
When the utility ignores the written complaint, or tries some "Lip service"
file thje complaint with the ARRL Lab. The ARRL has an agreement with the Commission to act as an intermediary in power line noise complaints.
Complaints MUST go thru the ARRL, as the Commission will NOT accept or act on them without previous ARRL attempts to resolve the problem.

The ARRL will send a letter to the utility, usually addressed to the CEO and chief council outlining the fact that causing powerline interference is a violation of FCC rules and the utility is responsible to repair the problem.

The utility will usually pay attention to the ARRL letter, mainly because it goes to high-up muckety mucks. The low level service center types could care less about your complaint, they have a power grid to manage and keep working and they have NO CLUE about the legalities of the utility causing interference.

Now, the wait begins.
They will usually come out and look around. They will ask YOU if you know where the source is located, and generally screw around. Then after a few
months of complaining, they will usually get someone in the utility that has some RFI experience involved.
Then, more looking around, more asking YOU if you have found the source.

They may or may not locate one or more local sources, if they find one,
then a line crew is scheduled, this can easily take 2 weeks to get a crew scheduled.

Be sure to keep the ARRL Lab guys advised of the progress.
I sent e-mails to them on a semi-weekly or monthly basis.

IF they cannot find a solution, you will eventually reach the point where frustration REALLY kicks in, and you have reached an impasse with the utility, the ARRL will refer the complaint to the FCC for resolution.

As of August 14, 2009 my complaint was referred to the Commission for resolution. My original written complaint to the utility was sent in April 2007.
I am now waiting to hear something from someone at the Commission to see just where things stand and what the next step may be.
I just realized, August 14 2009 was 2 months ago, and NOTHING from the Commission.

I guess NOTHING related to DC gets done quickly, except for STIUMLUS PACKAGES !

I still have interference here. It IS weaker than it was because I finally convinced the utility that there was a defective lightning arrestor on a pole 100' west of me. That was replaced on Sept 4, 2009, the friday before Labor Day. Now that the STRONG interference source has been eliminated (at least for the time being) other sources farther away have revealed themselves.
The project now is to find and eliminate those additional sources.

By the way, above I said "for the time being"...
On several occasions in this process, hardware has been replaced, and the interference has either diminished or disappeared for a length of time,
only to return. The above referenced lightning arrestor on the pole 100' west of me HAS BEEN REPLACED THREE TIMES.
Maybe three times is a charm.

I have asked the utility to send the old noisy lightning arrestor to their
lab to try and determine just WHY the devices continue to fail.
I am also waiting to hear the results of the failure analysis.

Good luck, powerline interference mitigation can be one of the most frustrating projects one can attempt.

I am at 2.5 years and counting.

The fight continues, I am NOT willing to let the utility "off the hook" until
ALL the noise sources locally are eliminated and I see them gone for a substantial length of time.

It sucks trying to dig a weak signal, like K4M that I am listening to on 17m CW now thru powerline interference.

[KA4DPO]

I am now following the advice of the ARRL RFI folks and filing a formal complaint with the utility per their directions.
If that does no good I contact the ARRL again.

I like the PVL method of problem resolution..

[W7KKK]

OK, my letter, certified and return receipt, is in the mail.
As their rep has already been here in July and will not respond to requests for information as to when the work was or is to be completed I requested a formal complaint be initiated per the ARRL to the CEO of the company.
I requested information as to time frames for repair if it has not been accomplished.
Something tells me I will be disgusted by the amount of time this may take and I may be looking for another rental.
This time I take the radio and look for RFI before I sign a lease!
What a pain moving is.
But as I'm retired I can see myself moving out into the edge of the National Forest which is around us very close in with lots of tall pines to hang wire in. Maybe that's my best option down the road.
This used TS-850 I picked up has a pretty sensitive receiver in it and I just can't operate right now with the high levels of noise or I will insult someone along the line because I can't hear the stations below the noise that I know are there.
Just trying to do things the right way, for a change.

[N0SYA]

"At the Dayton FCC Forum last year, Laura Smith stated that power line noise and uncooperative utility companies was going to be one of their priority enforcement issues. Have you tried contacting her directly?"

my guess this is only because line noise probably plays hell with bpl