State regulators have suspended the licenses held by Energy Source Electric Inc., a Tucson electrical contractor, following a complaint that the company put safety at risk by performing unauthorized and improper work.
After investigating complaints filed by Tucson Electric Power Co., the Arizona Registrar of Contractors summarily suspended the commercial and residential electrical contracting licenses held by Energy Source Electric and has scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 31.
Lucia Sandquist, office manager for Energy Source Electric, acknowledged that in some cases the company has worked on live electrical equipment in violation of TEP’s rules because the power company has taken weeks to respond to requests to shut off their customers’ power so they can complete installations.
“We are a small company that likes to accommodate its customers, but unfortunately TEP takes a lot of time to respond to our requests, sometimes weeks, and they never hire more people,” Sandquist said, adding that it is taking TEP a week to 10 days and sometimes up to three weeks to respond to shutoff requests.
Sandquist said the company, which has been in business more than 17 years, has never had any safety problems and plans to fight the Registrar’s action.
TEP spokesman Joe Barrios said the utility takes safety issues “very, very seriously” and works with contractors to shut off power in a timely manner.
“We’re more than happy to coordinate work schedules with contractors, but we expect them to perform their work in a safe manner,” Barrios said. “Performing work on energized TEP equipment without our permission and authorization is simply dangerous.”
Barrios cited one incident where an improperly sized line installed by Energy Source could have created a safety hazard and required TEP to dispatch an emergency lineman to correct the problem.
Barrios said TEP works to schedule temporary disconnections of service as quickly as possible, typically within five to 10 days.
According to the Registrar, TEP filed an initial complaint against Energy Source last September, alleging the contractor “repeatedly contracted outside the scope of its license and put the safety of the public at risk.”
The state’s preliminary investigation confirmed TEP’s allegations, and the Registrar issued a formal citation that prohibits Energy Source from entering into new contracts, the agency said.
The Registrar said its probe confirmed that Energy Source worked on the utility company’s electrical distribution wiring without TEP’s permission or inspection; illegally disconnected power, installed upgrades, tampered with service panels, and performed service switches on live wires — all of which represent “dangerous actions.”
The work performed by Energy Source at 21 job sites was required to be completed or inspected by TEP, the state agency said.
The company’s work also damaged some TEP equipment, and new wires installed by Energy Source lacked sufficient capacity for 200-amp service panels, creating potential fire hazards that TEP had to current and put the utility’s electricians at risk.
