Last fall, 2018, the power line was permanently attached to the house. It had been temporarily fixed to a tall post in the yard. While I had already paid twice to have the wiring finished for this addition, I had to pay a third time to get it actually finished (I paid the builder and then I had to pay the tradesperson when she advised me the builder never paid her). Thanks again asshat builder.
Unfortunately for me, between the time the power meter went onto the temporary post in the summer of 2017, and the fall of 2018 when I arranged to have the power permanently reconnected to the house, City rules had changed and I was no longer entitled to have my power line run from the back alley over my neighbour’s property to my house, which is how it used to be. So my choices for permanent reconnection were to cut down a poplar and a tamarack in my yard and have the line run overhead right through the middle of my backyard, or have it trenched in the ground at 5x the cost. I chose the latter.
Very cool was how the trench was made. Some tradesman showed up from Alberta with a huge truck and some kind of power hose. It had extreme pressure and the water spray dug the trench. I would not want to get into a water fight with that hose.
In order to have the trenching done, I had to remove the stairs on part of my obnoxious deck, to accommodate a straight run from the back gate to my house. I had to lie on the cold ground undoing screws from underneath.
After the line went in, I was left with mound of mud in the grass, from the alley to the house. The mound is currently half as high as it used to be in the photo below, because my dog has brought the other half in the house.
My yard is unsightly, muddy, and full of construction debris and lumber I’m hoping to re-use. It’s hard to have hope after so long. But I have someone lined up to do landscaping this spring. Again, I’m cautious about being excited about it, but hopefully it will work out.