Letter to Editor: Anybody Else Having Trouble With Electrical Surges?

Have you had to replace the circuit boards on your heat / air conditioning system?Did any of your electronics bite the dust?

In the past year, I lost a desktop computer, laptop computer, router, printer and the circuit boards on my central air / heating system and a split air system. This ain’t no joke.

Replacing the one circuit board alone cost over $600. To replace all the equipment damaged will cost thousands. I have a pile of electronic equipment sitting by my front door that is now so much junk. And I’ve talked to other people I know that have been experiencing the same thing. So I’m curious. How widespread is this?

The last thing to go was my furnace. During the process of tracking down the problem, the technician hooked a volt meter up to the control circuit and got a reading of 170 to 185 volts. I called the electric company. They came out to check the voltage and found it to be within the normal range. Which can mean any number of things. It could be the technician’s voltage meter wasn’t reporting accurately, or it could be he just happened to catch a surge on the line when he tested it. Interestingly enough, when I booted up my computer, it detected a power surge … stated it was reconfiguring the BIOS as a result.

Do I think that ACE is aware that there’s a problem? Yeah, I do.

Do I think they’re about to admit it? No I don’t. So I’m putting it out there. They also contend that my (their) meter wasn’t recording properly and that I owe them $2,200 in electricity they say I consumed that they never billed me for. I had the option of paying the adjusted amount or having my electricity shut off. So it is with monopolies.  

Anyone else having problems with electrical surges?

Eric Sauder
Ocean City