Complaints from several Oil City residents about what they believe are electric line irregularities that are causing headaches, nausea and other physical symptoms are being taken seriously by the utility that serves the city.
“We will work with the PUC (Public Utility Commission) on this issue,” Penelec spokesman Chris Eck said Wednesday.
His comments are in response to a pending formal complaint to the PUC from Jennifer Hickman, an Innis Street resident, and several neighbors who met Tuesday to discuss an array of physical sensations they believe are caused by outside power lines.
Her concerns were echoed by Rev. Tim Harmon, pastor of Second Presbyterian Church on West First Street, who said he agreed with Hickman that old and faulty electric lines may be causing health-related problems.
He said some members of his congregation have told him “they can feel it outside” and have also had their indoor lights often flicker.
Hickman met Tuesday with the Venango County commissioners and Robin Lutz, a staffer at state Sen. Scott Hutchinson’s office who is helping prepare a formal complaint to the PUC.
The complaint will ask for the utility overseer to investigate the residents’ concerns.
The PUC and Penelec have each evaluated the utility lines in question and found no problems during earlier inspections, said Hickman.
Eck, too, said the previous visit by the PUC “found nothing that was actionable.”
However, he said no cause has been identified.
“We don’t know what is causing this, whether it is electricity or not,” said the spokesman. “We want to help ensure that this is not our infrastructure that is causing trouble.”
Once the formal complaint is filed with the PUC, Penelec will again be involved, said Eck.
“We look forward to working with the PUC to continue to try and find a solution here and find these people some relief,” he said. “We will certainly comply with any requirement that the PUC asks for.”
In supporting the plan to officially ask the PUC for an investigation, Harmon said, “In filing the complaint with the PUC, our purpose is not to place blame but to get action.”
