Rising temperatures leads to tough work for repair companies

The extensive heat is leaving people without electricity for hours at a time and mechanical contractors are seeing a rise in calls for air conditioning repairs.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Some neighborhoods are experiencing power outages, leaving them without air conditioning during record breaking heat.

Air conditioning, heating and electrical contracting company Robert Gibb and Sons is getting almost 100 calls a day, most dealing with air conditioning.

The business says it normally gets half that amount of calls for service.

“It’s been real hectic around here the last few weeks, with the late spring start, and the kind of onslaught of summer happening right away,” Robert Gibb and Sons Commercial Service Manager Eric Johnson said.

“It’s been a little stressful, you know? Me and Alecia on our end have to be positive, of course. This is the time where we’re reaching a temp where obviously it’s a higher temp being in Fargo here. So, everybody is trying to get same service done. We only have a certain amount of techs,” Robert Gibb and Sons Residential Install Coordinator Courtney Good said.

“Capacitor issues, dirty condensers, basically everything shows up when it gets above 90 degrees. Anything that wouldn’t be a problem below 90 degrees is a bigger problem above 90,” Johnson said.

Some customers have been understanding and others more demanding.

“It’s the same deal with heat every year it’s more of an emergency than a no heat in the winter. People get frustrated pretty fast when it’s hot out like this,” Johnson said.

Homes in the Jefferson Neighborhood lost power overnight. One man says his electricity was out for about 10 pm to 1 am. Another says she had to move her family into the basement to sleep to keep cool in the heat.

“We only have a certain amount of techs. We’re only one person. The techs are only one person, so we can only move at a certain speed,” Good said.

If your air conditioning isn’t working, Robert Gibb and Sons recommends making sure to close blinds all day and use fans.