Main Line Man's $100K Japanese Koi Fish Perish In Prolonged Power Outage

BYRN MAWR, PA — About 20 years ago, Bryn Mawr's Tom East installed a 40,000 gallon, quarry style pond with a bridge and waterfall for 100 Japanese koi fish at his home.

Now, he said the 100 fish are dead following a prolonged power outage that stemmed from last week's storms in the region.

"I estimate the power went out at about 5:30 p.m. [Thursday]," East told Patch. "The power came back on at about 1:17 a.m. Sunday."

During the course of those 56 hours without electricity, his beloved koi died by asphyxiation due to the pond's aeration pumps' lack of function.

"By [Sunday morning], the fish breathed out all the oxygen in the water, so they suffocated," he said.

East, like many Philadelphia area residents last week, watched the skies turn black and winds kick up Thursday as powerful storms rolled through the region.

"The wind was going in circles, and the power immediately went out," he said. "That stopped the flow of water in the waterfall and aerator."

East reported the outage to PECO, as the utility company asks customers to do when power goes out, and he said the company told him the power would be back up in an hour or two.

But power was not restored in an hour or two.

He said he was then updated Friday with an estimated restoration time, but the power was not back on when PECO said it would be. The same thing happened Saturday, he said.

"Saturday night, I went to feed the fish and noticed many were dead," he said.

A friend and their son came to his home Sunday to remove the dead fish he had nurtured for two decades.

"It breaks my heart," he said. "I was so invested in these fish. Everybody who knows me knows I'm associated with this pond."

His adult children and grandchildren are also mourning the loss of the fish.

And, East said each fish was about $1,000, bringing his total loss to $100,000.

PECO offers a damage claim form for customers who suffered losses due to issues with its system.

"Please be aware that we are not responsible for damages from factors beyond our control, such as storms or outside interference, and our responsibility for damages is governed by the terms of our tariff which imposes a limit on our liability," the website reads.

A representative for the company told Patch "every claim is different" when asked about situations such as East's. East has yet to file a claim with PECO.

His main issues with PECO are twofold: the shifting of power restoration time estimates and hazardous vegetation removal.

He said the various restoration time estimates gave him false hope that power would return, providing his fish with freshly oxygenated water.

According to PECO, providing restoration time frames is a very complex process.

"Nested outages play a big role," a PECO representative said. Nested outages occur when crews address one issue causing outages, but find another underlying issue that also contributes to power loss.

Customers, he said, should use the PECO website or official app to see outages statuses in real time.

PECO had more than 327,000 customers without power after the storms last week.

"As crews work, they update information and estimation times," he said. "We try to be as accurate as possible, but there are so many factors."

East alleges PECO is "culpable by making claims that give false hope," and said he likely would not have been able to locate a generator even if he had been given a restoration estimate that was reached.

And, East says a tree killed by parasitic ivy near his home that came down on wires last week was not addressed by PECO's vegetation removal crews.

"It turns out PECO for years has failed to trim the trees around the wires and remove any dead trees also around the electricity wires," he said.

The PECO representative said about 40 percent of outages are caused by tree damage, and that's why the company will $9 billion during the next five years on infrastructure enhancement and corrective maintenance, which includes vegetation management.

The company said crews also routinely trim trees near utility poles and power lines on a schedule.

PECO customers can report hazardous trees and other potentially damaging vegetation online here.

Additionally, East is frustrated with Haverford Township and the neighbor on which the dead tree was located for not taking action to prevent the tree from falling.

"The township is negligent in not enforcing the ordinance on maintaining trees," he said.

For now, East is working through the grief of losing his cherished fish.

"They're works of art, they're beautiful, and that's why people appreciate them."

East said anyone who wants to send him condolences or offer assistance in this difficult time can email him at tomeast21@gmail.com.

Patch has reached out to Haverford Township officials for comment and will update the story when we hear back.