Every big storm that comes through Delaware and Licking counties ends the same way for a handful of houses: a limb comes down on the service drop, the mast on the side of the house bends or tears loose, and the power is out. The homeowner calls the utility. The utility says they cannot reconnect until the riser is repaired, and that the riser is not theirs.
That answer surprises people every time. Here is why it is right, and what to do about it.
Who owns what on the side of your house
In most of Central Ohio the line of ownership sits at the point where the utility's wires attach to your house. The utility owns the service drop (the wires from the pole), the meter itself, and everything on their side of it. You own the mast or riser that the drop attaches to, the weatherhead on top of it, the meter base the meter plugs into, and the service entrance cable that runs from there into your panel.
Your utility will confirm exactly where that line sits for your address, and it is worth asking, because it decides who does the repair. The short version: if the damage is to the pipe, the weatherhead, the meter socket or the cable on the house, it is yours, and it needs an electrician.
Why the utility will not just reconnect
Because a damaged riser is not safe to energize. A mast that has been pulled away from the wall may have torn the service entrance cable, cracked the meter base, or pulled the grounding loose. Putting power back onto that is how a house fire starts a day after the storm. So the utility waits for a repair, and in most jurisdictions an inspection, before they reconnect.
What the repair involves
A riser repair is usually a same-day job once we are on site. We replace or re-secure the mast, put on a new weatherhead, replace the meter base if it is damaged, and replace the service entrance cable if the insulation has been pulled or nicked. We check the grounding and bonding while we are there, because a jolt that moves a mast has often moved other things too.
Where a permit and inspection are required, we pull the permit and get the inspection scheduled. Then we call the utility for the reconnect. That coordination is the part that saves you a day: the reconnect request goes in as soon as the repair is done rather than after you have made three more phone calls.
What to do while you wait
If a line is down in your yard, stay away from it and call the utility. Treat every downed line as live, no exceptions. If the mast is hanging off the house with the wires still attached, the same rule applies: do not touch it and do not let anyone try to push it back.
Turn off the main breaker in your panel if you can reach it safely. If the power comes back in a surge before the repair, that protects what is plugged in.
Then call us. Give the address and what happened. During a storm event the calls stack up and Erinn works through them in order, so a clear message gets you a callback faster than a voicemail that just says to call back.
Can this be prevented?
Partly. Trees near the service drop are the usual cause, and the utility will often trim what is in the clearance zone if you ask. A mast that is properly braced and anchored survives a lot more than one that was put up quickly thirty years ago. If yours looks tired, having it looked at in a dry week costs a lot less than a storm week.
If you are in Galena, Sunbury, Westerville, Johnstown or anywhere along our corridor and a storm has taken your riser, call us and we will get you back on.