Need help: Dealing with voltage fluctuations/surges

Since I'm pretty new to these forums, I wanted to ask if anyone else is dealing with major voltage drops? It’s causing serious issues—my household appliances are acting up and my internet keeps cutting out... does anyone know how to actually get Exelon to upgrade the local transformer??
Please help, because all these repairs are absolutely killing my wallet, which isn't exactly overflowing right now.
Thanks

You really ought to check just how much electrical capacity you actually have allocated for your house. I mean, honestly, you should probably head down to Exelon or give them a call and ask what your specific power limit is—whatever they call it. I remember when we were getting those electric baseboard heaters installed back in the day, the technician was going on and on about how we needed sufficient amperage to handle the load. I’d never even heard of that before, by the way. You basically have to lease a certain amount of kilowatts or something... look, I'm hardly an electrician, so don't quote me on the technicalities.

But look, we had plenty of juice, and I can run thirteen electric heaters at once along with every other appliance in the house without a single hiccup. In some cases, it all just comes down to whether you have enough capacity to begin with.

If that isn't the issue, then I don't know... maybe there's a weak transformer somewhere on your block? Just go ask Exelon.

It’s a standard service agreement, which means they are legally obligated to provide standard power—specifically 60 Hz at 120V. I’m not the only one dealing with this; the entire neighborhood is suffering because the local substation is ancient and the transformer simply lacks the capacity. When we test the voltage at the outlet, it sits around 190V, which is well below any acceptable level. A normal deviation for a household should be within a tiny margin! Naturally, my local City Hall is washing its hands of the whole thing, claiming they can't do anything (basically just passing the buck). In the meantime, I’ve been leaning on some business partners to look into this, and I've managed to dig up quite a bit, though I could still use some help if anyone has leads. For anyone facing this same headache, here is the process I've been guided through by various engineers:
- First off, take a sedative... you'll need it. :-)
- Call an insurance company and get coverage for your home appliances (I'm actually looking into how that works right now—if anyone has advice, I’d appreciate it)
- Next, draft a formal petition citing your service agreement. This contract stipulates the guaranteed standard voltage that must be delivered to households according to law; it's the contract signed by Duke Energy, and they are technically required to honor it. *Be sure to include a threat of legal action)
- Then, hit your street door-to-door to collect signatures. It would be ideal if you could get a letter of support from the local government—though that part is usually where things stall, since officials tend to act like, "Who are you to ask us for help? Just handle it with them yourself." They'll often tell you to go deal with someone else, and even if they do agree to help, they might only move once their term is about to expire)
- Once you have enough signatures (at least 15), you should take them straight to Duke Energy. The issue is that I haven't figured out which specific department or individual is actually responsible—let alone finding a direct phone number or fax. PLEASE HELP IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE TO DIRECT THIS!
- Once you track down the right person, start sending follow-up inquiries every single week.
- At that point, they are supposed to come out to the site, perform voltage measurements, and either replace the transformer with a higher-capacity unit or build a new substation. Well, that’s how it looks on paper, anyway. I'll keep everyone posted on how the actual practice goes.