The first reason is that it ensures that the pole actually belongs to Tideland. In Beaufort County alone, there are six power companies! The six are the Town of Belhaven, Washington Electric Utilities, Dominion Power, Duke Energy, Edgecombe-Martin County EMC and Tideland. That’s a lot of utility infrastructure to sort out.

Because every pole on Tideland’s system has been plotted with exact GPS coordinates, the pole tag number ensures crew arrival at the exact site saving both time and money.

The pole tag identifier means passersby can report an issue even when they aren’t sure of the exact address. The three photos above were emailed to us by a member who was out for a walk in the Harvey Road area of Washington. Not only did she provide us with the pole tag number, she also documented the damage: a broken insulator. Thanks to her proactive email an eventual power outage was prevented that would have impacted 553 homes and businesses!

With mowing season well underway in Tideland territory, you can further assist us by keeping a safe distance from pole guy wires when operating mowers and other equipment.

While the “big green box”, a/k/a padmount transformer cabinet, may not be visually appealing, the National Electric Safety Code dictates that a 10-foot clearance in front of the transformer doors and a 3-foot clearance on the remaining sides. So resist the urge to camouflage it with plants and decorative structures. If you see a damaged or unlocked transformer cabinet notify us immediately. Each padmount transformer also has a unique numerical ID tag so be sure to note it before reaching out.