Tim McHugh, manager of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, is the inventor of the "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Eversource held an event in Springfield to showcase their new telescoping "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Tim McHugh, manager of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, is the inventor of the "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Ryan Kulbacki, supervisor of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, was on hand as Eversource in Springfield held an event to showcase their new "Rapid Pole" apparatus that will dramatically reduce the time it takes to restore power to customers in the event of a damaged pole.
Tim McHugh, manager of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, is the inventor of the "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Don Treeger/The Republican
Tim McHugh, manager of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, is the inventor of the "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Don Treeger/The Republican
Eversource held an event to showcase their new "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Don Treeger/The Republican
Eversource held an event in Springfield to showcase their new "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Don Treeger/The Republican
Eversource held an event in Springfield to showcase their new "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Eversource held an event in Springfield to showcase their new telescoping "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – Nearly a year ago, a powerful storm swept across New Hampshire, breaking about 200 power poles.
Lines on the ground. Lights out. Heat out.
And it was Christmas Eve.
“Rapid Pole” to the rescue. That night was the first time Eversource used a new device that quickly replaces downed poles, says its inventor, Tim McHugh.
McHugh demonstrated use of the device Wednesday to local utility workers at the Eversource maintenance depot on Cadwell Drive in East Springfield.
Massachusetts is getting Rapid Pole for the first time. It’s a trailer-mounted telescoping utility pole built of aircraft aluminum that pivots out and extends up to 50 feet. The top is fiberglass, an insulator, and it can replace up to two regular utility poles.
Tim McHugh, manager of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, is the inventor of the "Rapid Pole", a new way to quickly restore power then telephone poles are damaged.
Don Treeger/The Republican
“It gets the lines off the ground and the power on,” said McHugh, manager of response specialists – known as “troubleshooters” – across New Hampshire.
In the best of circumstances, it can take three to six hours to set up a regular utility pole. Once crews trailer in a Rapid Pole, it can be up and helping to restore service in 10 minutes.
“That’s avoiding economic loss,” McHugh said. “That’s public safety.”
He said for customers, even a short power loss during the day is more than an inconvenience. “A lot of people work from home,” he said. “They are losing stuff off their computers.”
The mechanical pole has two hydraulic pumps, Kulbacki said. One levels the trailer, using outriggers for support, and the other raises the pole. The pumps can be powered by an on-board battery or an electric generator. In a pinch, the unit hooks up to a truck battery, like jumpstarting a car.
Ryan Kulbacki, supervisor of response specialists for Eversource in New Hampshire, was on hand as Eversource in Springfield held an event to showcase their new "Rapid Pole" apparatus that will dramatically reduce the time it takes to restore power to customers in the event of a damaged pole.
Don Treeger/The Republican
Ryan Kulbacki, who also supervises troubleshooters in New Hampshire, said one of the public safety benefits to the Rapid Pole is getting power lines that might still be energized off the road.
“It clears the way for responders to do their jobs,” he said.
Rapid Pole stays in place until a regular, permanent, light pole can be installed. It is tapped to restore power to critical infrastructure, like a fire station being used as an emergency shelter.
The devices are built for Eversource by Floatograph Mast and Trailer Solutions in Indiana. Floatograph has built similar equipment for the military and federal government since 1989.
Eversource is getting 17 Rapid Poles to support its operations in three New England states: New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
