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Couple living in solar-powered log home protest electric lines
Charles and Melanie Ogle, who have lived off the power grid for 17 years, are fighting a plan by American Electric Power to take some of their land by eminent domain to build an overhead electric line. AEP offered them $4,000, but the couple said no. (Columbus Dispatch)November 18, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
"You have control of it in your hands," Mr. Ogle said. "You're not at the mercy of AEP."
Apparently not.
Posted by: sometimesilie | Nov 18, 2008 2:02:58 PM
"the company has the right to take their land"
those words in that order send chills down my spine
Posted by: elchampino | Nov 18, 2008 2:05:49 PM
I read chili and than I thought of chili dogs and than chocolate frosties when I read elchampinos post. It took at least three readings to get what he was saying.
seriously need to leave work and go have a drink, a chili dog and some d#mn ice cream.
Posted by: sometimesilie | Nov 18, 2008 2:10:10 PM
Eminent domain is enough to give anyone indigestion. But, on the other hand, who owned the land before them? And suppose this power line is going to supply electricity for a fire station, a hospital, or the OSRR host?
In any event 4K is nowhere near enough to compensate. The AEP should have Bid high or gone home.
Posted by: nelllagain | Nov 18, 2008 2:28:44 PM
The Conservative Supreme Court OKed land grabs for a freakin' retail development in New London, CT. This power-line thing is going to happen no matter what they do. It's a valid use of eminent domain (in my opinion).
Hmmm...I wonder what became of that retail development in New London now that the economic crisis has happened.
Posted by: Sean | Nov 18, 2008 2:31:43 PM
You are right nell - there is "good" eminent domain and there is "bad" eminent domain. Still, I can't shake the ickiness of it. Not to mention that in this case it's a company that's seizing the land, as opposed to a government entity.
Posted by: elchampino | Nov 18, 2008 2:32:19 PM
Ha! Ha! Ha! So! Trying to escape, were they? That'll teach 'em. That'll teach 'em good.
Posted by: Torgo | Nov 18, 2008 2:43:22 PM
This is not a garden variety high tension electric line connecting communities to power plants; this is a single use line to power a cell phone tower.
It seems the company could use a different route easily enough. Its hard to go around land obstacles when connecting points 50 miles apart; its easy when the goal is to connect a single point to any other point in the grid.
Posted by: Lou Sussler | Nov 18, 2008 2:44:13 PM
Yeah, I'm kind of ticked that it's a company seizing the land vs. the gov't. Companies are taking over everything. That's why the economy sucks right now.
Posted by: twerp | Nov 18, 2008 2:45:16 PM
i agree with elchamp
Posted by: buddy | Nov 18, 2008 2:48:49 PM
"[17 years ago]....They planned to get commercial electricity, they said, but balked when AEP quoted a price of $440 a month for the first four years and $220 a month afterward as the billing costs to build a line on the isolated ridge."
I disagree with their "we don't want any money" principle. They should be trying to gouge the power company on a monthly basis at a similar rate that they would have been. At least that way, there is a monetary middle ground.
Since the USD is worth approximately half of what it was in 1991, requiring $880 a month for the first four years and $440 a month afterward would be a good start. The initial offer of a one-time payment of $4,000 is an insult.
The message here should be "the street goes both ways". If you are going to treat rural customers unfairly, they have a right to treat you unfairly right back.
Posted by: FrankM | Nov 18, 2008 2:49:24 PM
you Sean, I've been wondering about that myself (not New London, but my cornor of CT got suckered into retail development plan about which nada has been heard)
It seems to me that there's quite a lot of commercial building still going on. I was in meeting this morning that was interrupted by blasting from a nearby development. In Ct we make new land the old fashion way, we don't plow up perfectly nice farms, we blow up mountains
Posted by: nellagain | Nov 18, 2008 2:52:57 PM
Wow, i wasn't going to comment until i saw the map. In big letters: Rockbridge.
Couldn't help but remember... "There's only one thing that stands between me and that land: It's rightful owners"
Posted by: Joe | Nov 18, 2008 4:23:30 PM
"eminent domain" is total bullsh*t! Isn't this the land of the FREE??!! I thought as American's we had the right to own land...but thats a total farce. The government can take that land you "own" at any time and offer to pay you a pittance.
Posted by: cherie | Nov 18, 2008 4:49:47 PM
Mister and I are going to be in a similar situation. We've offered to buy a bit of land his auntie owns, and it's got a power line that runs along the western edge. We've got to allow access to it, in spite of any plans we have for the place.
It's one reason we were thinking of building an "Addams Family" style house--it's completely out of character for the trailers-and-cottages neighborhood, and a giant power tower would lend an additional sinister aura.
As for the topic at hand, while I'm normally in the "for the greater good" corner, I detest eminent domain. In my opinion, it ranks right up there with manifest destiny, another concept that makes me wanna hurl.
Posted by: Soo | Nov 18, 2008 5:14:43 PM
When given the choice between a cost effective shortcut across long settled land, and taking the longer way to company objectives, the big shots will always follow the money and the easier route, much like the irresistable nature of water or electricity.
Given the rock solid ultimatum of 'you put 'em up (electrical towers), we'll take 'em down', they finally see the value and savings of taking the scenic route around.
Been there, etc.
nellagain;
Will never understand the concept of land ownership.
Stewards seem to take a deeper abiding respect for the land they use, than deeded owners who equate ownership as a license to thoughtless exploitation with no consequences.
Posted by: thomas | Nov 18, 2008 5:42:00 PM
One does not own land is the U.S. You rent it from the government. Don't believe me? Don't pay your property tax and see what happens...
Posted by: Joe is a Carpenter | Nov 18, 2008 8:25:07 PM
i believe in what they are doing but the outcome is yet to be seen.
Posted by: MONKEY JERK | Nov 19, 2008 4:43:12 AM
if the big-shots at the power co. want a power line use their big bonus money to bury it.
Posted by: swiftfork | Nov 19, 2008 6:13:17 AM
I too am against eminent domain by companies. I see nothing wrong in the request to have the cable buried. I hope they win the civil suit, but I suspect the best they can hope for would be more money or a buried cable...
Posted by: R | Nov 19, 2008 6:40:28 AM
The $4000 offer from the power company is insulting, particularly since they were going to charge them far more than that PER YEAR for electrical service.
And if the eminent domain claim is for a line to a communications tower, not the main power line itself, why not simply move the tower to another property in the area with a more willing owner?
Posted by: Phranqlin | Nov 19, 2008 6:58:27 AM
wonder if AEP is a subsidiary of Mr. Burns' power conglomerate. "Pish-posh, we offered your urchins a pittance , now sail off!"
Posted by: sometimesilie | Nov 19, 2008 7:03:48 AM
Mrs. Munchkin and I were in nearly the same boat, but with a road. We bought a decrepid 125 year old farm house in Kansas and totally remodeled it back (or as close as I could come) to its original look. After living there for 3 years, when there was a lot of talk about a new Oz based theme park going in about 2 miles down the road. They were going to widen the road in front of our house, and take nearly 40% of our front yard thru "eminent domain, or theivery". After a little while, I was advised that since our land had been hit 3 times with "eminent thievery" that I could name my price and they would pretty much have to pay it. I told them an outrageous amount, and they were actually willing to pay, then the whole thing fell through. Too bad though, I would have gotten nearly $100,000 for every 10 linear feet of yard that they took. Worked out to be nearly 1 million. Then Mrs. Munchkin and I would have opened a bed and breakfast and called it Auntie Em's.
Oh well.
Posted by: Mayor of Munchkin Land | Nov 19, 2008 8:33:32 AM
"There are pockets where we have blacked-out communications, and we need to improve that system," company spokesman Jeff Rennie said.
He learned how to make blackouts from his father, Klaatu.
Now he wants to make the Ogle's earth stand still.
Posted by: A.V. | Nov 19, 2008 9:44:08 AM
Can't the cell phone tower be run off the grid, solar/wind?
Sure be good public relations for utility, phone company and government involved.
Posted by: Charles Brobst | Nov 19, 2008 1:56:26 PM
