4-15-08 Clearing on Tranquil Moon

There was really a lot of progress made on the clearing at Tranquil Moon this weekend.  Cara and I walked the path on Sunday to evaluate the area and to make plans for the next phase - the electric service, well, and move-in.  All is looking great and according to plan with some exceptions. 

A visit to VEC - the electric company - brought an incredible revelation that I was not aware of.  After getting the invoice for new service at Tranquil Moon - a total of about $1500 - I was a bit taken aback and wanted to know just what we were having to pay for.  My initial understanding was this was going to be about $600.  So when I saw a $900 increase I was very concerned.  As noted earlier, our plans had originally been to put in a pole roughly 15' away from the primary pole (the orange stake in the photo).   On this we would have our meter and circuit breaker panel.  Turns out part of the high cost of the installation was related to the contract cost of installing the transformer - $700.  A suggestion someone else gave me was to see about an underground installation from the primary pole to our service.  Now here's the WOW - they will provide up to 150' of cable free of charge to run from the primary pole to my panel AND the installation of the transformer is no longer considered a part of a new installation so therefore a contractor will not have to put it in - the cost is $0.  That's right $0!!!!  I said, DUH, you think???   So I quickly re-evaluated my plans and went with an underground installation.  The new panel will be on the toward the bottom left of this photo with the RV located to the right.  This weekend I'll rent a trencher at $175/day and put in a 36" trench for 150' to the property area.  The thing I like about this is it puts the electric service right up to our living area instead of being on the road.