Surge Protection

Take advantage of our surge protection program to protect your home from potentially damaging surges caused by thunderstorms and other abnormal events on the electric system. Lightning causes millions of dollars of damage to major home appliances and sensitive electronics every year. Our low-profile meter base surge protector provided by Kenick, can protect your home appliances with “utility-grade” protection from surges entering your home over power lines.

Designed by utility engineers, the low profile meter base surge protector handles the surge “outside the residence,” sending it to ground before it can enter the home and cause damage.

Please note, surges are different from brief power interruptions or “blinks.” Surges are spikes in voltage above normal levels. Surge protectors are designed to protect your home from these voltage spikes, not blinks.

How Do I Sign Up?

To sign up for meter base surge protection, complete our online Surge Protection Member Agreement form below:

Surge Protection Agreement

There is a $30 installation fee and a $6.00 monthly equipment lease fee. Members agree to lease the device from GEC for a period of two years to avoid a $150 early termination fee. Review the Kenick meter base surge protection device 15 year limited warranty here.

Meter base surge protection devices are designed to protect motor-drive electric appliances such as refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, HVAC units, hard wired fans, freezers, and cooking appliances.

To protect sensitive electronics such as computers, TVs and game systems, Kenick offers premium plug-in protectors available on their website at www.spikestop.com. Use the discount code “coop” for a 15% discount at checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Just what is a surge and how are they created?
Surges are very brief increases (spikes) in voltage. Many people equate surges with lightning, but there are many other causes that most people don’t even recognize. From outside your home, brief surges can occur when a tree branch falls into a line or a car hits a power pole. Internal surges can occur when motors or pumps turn off or when you turn your vacuum cleaner on and off . (A large vacuum cleaner can generate a 6000-volt spike!)

How do Surge Protection Devices work?
Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) are like pressure safety valves on a boiler, which release dangerous excess pressure from the system. SPDs are installed across the power supply in parallel with the equipment to be protected. At normal operating voltages, the SPDs do not affect the system. When a transient voltage occurs, the SPD diverts the transient energy/current back to its source or ground. This limits (clamps) the voltage amplitude to a safer level. After the transient is diverted the SPD will automatically reset back to its original state.

What is a meter-base protector?
A meter-base protector is a high-energy surge protection device that is installed directly behind the electric meter at your home. All power coming into your home runs through the meter-base protector, making it the first stage of protection against power surges.

Will the meter-base protector protect all my equipment?
No, which is why we recommend Kenick’s layered protection. The meter-base protector, the first layer of protection,
offers excellent protection for major appliances such as dishwashers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, and freezers.
While this covers the majority of power surge protection, a small portion of power surges can still pass through
interior wiring, where they can damage sensitive electronics. For these sensitive electronics, Kenick offers a second layer of protection, premium plug-in protectors, which are up to six times stronger than those found in retail stores.

Will the meter-base protector protect my home from a direct lightning strike?
The vast majority of lightning strikes you can hear or see occur nearby your home. These strikes may send surges into your home through electrical, cable, or phone lines. Our surge protection equipment is designed to protect
against these common surges. Service entrance protectors are not designed to protect your home from a direct lightning strike, but fortunately, the odds of lightning striking your home are very low.

What is not covered by our meter-base protectors?
Some equipment cannot be sufficiently protected by the meter-base protector, as surges can enter through the ground, rather than the power lines. Examples include outdoor pumps, irrigation systems, electronic pet fences, and electric entrance gates. Although the meter-base device does offer some protection for electronic display panels in large appliances, they cannot be fully protected by that device. Additionally, alarm, doorbell and intercom systems cannot be covered under our warranty since they require specialized protection. It is best to contact the manufacturer when attempting to protect these types of devices.

Does the utility offer any surge protection for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)?
Although the meter-base device will provide a level of protection to PEV charging units, at this time, neither those items nor the vehicles are covered under any warranty. We currently do not offer surge protection devices for stand-alone, remotely-located, PEV charging units. However, such devices are available on the market, and a licensed electrical contractor may be able to install one upon request.

What about protection for my computer/modem, cable television, Blu-ray, and/or gaming machines?
These sensitive electronics are unique in that they have two or more sources of entry for a surge. Kenick’s premium
plug-in protectors offer both the standard electrical protection, as well as the necessary phone, cable, or satellite
protection. Visit their website at www.spikestop.com to purchase plug-in protectors separately and use the discount code “coop” for a 15% discount at checkout.

Will this stop the surges that cause my clocks and DVD players to blink?
Blinking clocks and DVD players are caused by power interruptions, not electrical surges. Surge protection equipment will not reduce or prevent power interruptions.

Will a circuit breaker respond and protect the equipment?
A typical surge travels at (1/1000th) of a second. Circuit breakers take approximately (170/1000th) of a second, or 170 times as long, to respond to excess current. In other words, electrical surges will come and go long before a circuit breaker can operate.

Do I have to be home when the surge protection is installed?
No.

Will the power be turned off during installation?
Yes, it is required. Generally, the power will be off for less than 15 minutes during the installation.

How do I know if the surge protection is still working?
The meter-base protector has an indicator light to let you know it is functioning properly. If this light is not illuminated, be sure to call us at 863-946-6200.