ComEd presents improvement plans in Hoffman Estates

Armed with a plan and a May deadline, ComEd officials told a Hoffman Estates committee Monday night that a fix to the power outages that have plagued the village is in the works.

Drew Zmolek, reliability manager for ComEd, explained to the committee and around a dozen residents that some of the system improvements include targeted tree trimming and cable replacement, such as one along Roselle Road, should help more than 700 customers in Hoffman Estates.

The discussion came more than a month after the company met with village officials and residents who were angry over what they called a poor response to power outages from heavy storms in June and July, and to problems some neighborhoods have faced for years.

For residents at the meeting, the most welcome announcement from Zmolek was ComEd’s plans for customers on a few streets in the Westbury subdivision who have reported frequent outages even during good weather to shift to a less troublesome circuit.

“It’s not something that we typically do,” Zmolek said.

Residents seemed happier with ComEd’s responses than at the previous meeting, but some still questioned the company’s commitment to solving the problems.

Bonita Parker, external affairs manager for ComEd, had to clarify that the circuit had not been flipped yet, but that the company plans to have all their proposed improvements completed by May 2012, before the summer storm season starts.

“For the Dresden Court area, it is our intention to switch them off of the feeder that they’re currently in, which is the Iverness feeder, and to switch them onto a new feeder,” she said.

Trustee Karen Mills asked Parker and Zmolek to clarify if it was “a definite” that ComEd was going to make the improvements.

“We know unequivocally that we’re not going to be able to get all this work done immediately. We have committed to getting it all done between now and second quarter of next year,” Parker said. “That’s our commitment, we’re standing by it.”

Parker agreed to a request by Mayor William McLeod for ComEd to update village officials once a month on the progress of the improvements. Trustee Gary Pliafas also asked for ComEd to provide the village with a project plan that could be posted online so residents could know the expected completion date for the projects.

After talking with Parker and Zmolek the committee passed a resolution requiring improved ComEd response, accountability and transparency in the company’s electric grid modernization legislation. It was later unanimously approved by the village board in a special meeting.