Four days after storm, wires still on roads

Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

The longest wait for power to return befalls Järva and Harju Counties – seven days, minimum; Rapla County’s lucky with only six.

Last night, it was four days from the storm. Even so, Eesti Energia had not yet managed to wipe wires off the village roads. The farmers are busy heaving off the metal and chopping trees «resting» on power lines.

In Laukna village in Märjamaa, Rapla County, a road leading to a one-time pig farm is adorned by one of the three medium voltage wires. The farm, empty of pigs by now, teems with hundreds of tons of earthworms. Fearing to approach it on foot, we cross the wire by car. 

Why the wire broke, it’s hard to tell. No tree fell on it. Still, it is down, the entire village left on two phases, so to speak. Meaning: the lights are on, but larger power appliances will not work.

Dozens of times, village folks have notified Eesti Energia. No one has showed up, yet. The work would not be hard... merely mending a wire.

«Within 20 metres, I would not set foot on the ground,» said electrician Meelis Piiskop, fixing electrical cabinets in the farm now engaged in vermiculture.

«I cannot tell if it’s under voltage. Nothing to measure with. What a shame, a wire on the ground like this. Eesti Energia should come have a look,» muttered the man.

A bit more than a month ago, Postimees was around in these parts, in Laukna, Loodna and Sipa. Back then, Estonia had been battered by storms, thousands of farmsteads left without power. It was the worst in South-Estonia. 

The stormy winds let loose on Thursday night till Friday morning, were most furious towards Järva County, Lääne-Viru County and Harju County. Rapla County was not spared, either.

No wonder, then, that on Monday the phone rang: it was Eve Raudnagel, first lady at Vinguti-Juurimaa farm, Märjamaa Commune: «The power went on Friday; they promise it back on Wednesday or Thursday only.»

A month ago they told us: at the slightest wind, the power leaves. Proved a true prophecy.

Generator guzzles gasoline

Mid-day, yesterday, a power generator roared in the farm yard. Oliver Raudnagel, master of the farm, rented it from Haapsalu, Friday night. That being the closest option. For Christmas, the family ordered a generator of their own.

The generator consumes about 80 litres (ca 20 gallons) of gas a day. Life is ordered as follows: when it’s time to milk the cows, lights are switched off in living quarters and sauna. Once the cows are milked, it’s time to take the dung out. Generator power not sufficient, all is done manually.

Alas! It gets dark before four o’clock right now. The day’s work done, the family gathers around the light shining from living room TV screen.

«Then, we watch the news to know how many households are still without power. But perhaps they won’t cover that, in the news, thinking the power has returned,» added Eve Raudnagel.

Behind the cow house, there passes a village road. On Friday morning, it featured a low voltage wire. The family notified Eesti Energia. On Saturday morning, they could wait no more. Needing to water the horses, the tractor driver tried to avoid the wire but got entangled.

Thereafter, the family pulled the line to the edge of the road, sawing down the dry tree which had fallen upon it. Mid-Monday, the wire still lingered where it had been laid, rolled up nicely, waiting for Eesti Energia to send somebody.

Last summer, as brush was being cut underneath the power lines, Oliver Raudnagel had pointed out the tree to the working men, saying it was dry and would come down with the winds. The men had answered: not our task. They were trimming machine guys only.

«Eesti Energia’s attitude is avoiding costs at all cost – as yet. Let’s see if it lasts another year,» thinks the young farmer.

Gas and generator rental aside, the farmers’ greatest damage comes by milk going bad. Generators will not keep coolers working; dairy won’t ask what happened and why. Should milk quality go down, they just pay less.

Notifying Eesti Energia of faults is still a tough job, though. Eve Raudnagel says that, in Monday morning, she was waiting 20 minutes on standby, before getting hold of customer service.

Surprisingly, the young lady declared there were no high voltage disruptions in Märjamaa Commune. «My, the lines are down? Then, I’m marking a red dot.»

What will the red dot do? Will it hasten electricity back, for the three villages involved? The only sure word to stand upon is promise by customer service: the power comes Thursday of Friday. 

«Is this the essence of Estonian society, that nothing can be done?» asks Eve Raudnagel. «Everybody says nothing can be done, that’s the way it is. Somehow, I’m not buying that.»

Elektrilevi guy curses weather

Vello Tanseri, Eesti Energia’s «person in control of electrical installations» in Rapla County, said workmen were headed to the former pig farm on Tuesday.

«The current is switched off I guess? If the wire is down, never go close, current or no current,» said the man.

According to Elektrilevi monitoring centre chief Taivo Tõnne, failures will today be fixed in  Tartu, Viljandi, Jõgeva and Ida-Viru Counties, in Rapla County by tomorrow. The last lines, in Harju and Järva Counties, are supposed to be mended the day after tomorrow.

Mr Tõnne said the Harju County damage was comparable to the great 1976 storm or the 2005 January storm. This time, Southern Estonia and the isles were spared, somewhat.

«Year by year, the power network becomes more and more reliable. Even so, looks like the weather conditions are getting more and more extreme,» said he.

«In the Elektrilevi area, the Friday’s storm caused trouble to nearly 129,000 households. The wind was very strong, in many places it blew 30 metres a second for quite some time. This felled trees on the lines even from outside the corridors. Also helping the trees to fall was the softness of the earth,» added Mr Tõnne.

Thousands of families without power

•    On Monday, at 4 pm, Harju County had 2,560 clients without power, Järva County 1,700, and Rapla County 930, according to Elektrilevi.

•    By 4 pm, Monday, power had been restored to 123,278 households.

•    In Harju County, trees were felled by winds to cause failures with 72 medium voltage lines; all in all, about 26,000 clients lost power in the county. Great havoc was wreaked, by the North-Eastern wind, also in Järva, Rapla and Lääne-Viru Counties. This time around, the isles and South Estonia had it relatively easy.

Source: Elektrilevi