A Warsaw man who said his appliances were affected by a power surge June 6 disputes his power company’s explanation that the damage was caused by lightning. Aaron Boutcher, who lives on East Pierceton Road in Warsaw, said in a Wednesday letter to the Times-Union that his home received 308 volts for a 10-hour period, which ruined his oven and washer. He said it also “compromised the integrity” of all appliances running during that period. KREMC, his energy provider, told Boutcher June 7 the damage was likely caused by a lightning strike, which meant his claim would probably be denied, he said in the letter. The electric cooperative’s Manager of Marketing and Customer Service Emily Cowan confirmed this morning that lightning is the likely culprit. She said a burn mark was found on top of Boutcher’s transformer indicating a lightning strike, a cause Boutcher disputes based on timing. “I expressed how difficult it was for me to understand that lightning caused the transformer to fail because the last lightning occurred late evening May 31st,” he said in the letter, recounting a conversation with KREMC Manager of Operations and Engineering Kurt Carver. He said he also spoke with Cowan June 11, who told him the incident was still under investigation. “Why investigate when they knew last week it was damaged by a lightning strike? The stories do not jive.” Cowan said this morning that it is possible for a transformer to be struck by lightning and not fail for a few days, comparing it to a tree being struck but not falling right away. “I’m comfortable telling you that the transformer was struck by lightning,” she said. “Our experts in the utility industry who have 30-plus years of experience said it was lightning.” She said Boutcher’s transformer was sent to a third party to be tested and the report will be sent to him, and that ultimately the decision on what caused the surge lies with the co-op’s insurance company, Federated. Cowan said KREMC advises any customer who believes any damage was caused to their equipment to file a claim with their insurance company. “We provided detailed information to him. There’s certainly no deceitfulness on our part,” she added. “I feel 100 percent that we did the right thing in this situation, and I stand behind it.”
