RESIDENTS of Ada St are tallying thousands of dollars worth of damage following an unexpected power surge.
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Essential Energy South Eastern Manager Phillip Green said at least 20 residents were affected by the surge on November 12. One of those, Margaret Gooch of 65 Ada St, said the damage has been varied.
She told the Post while she lost crucial items such as two refrigerators, a microwave, cordless phone and access to the internet; she has still fared better than some of her neighbours.
“The damage has varied from house to house,” Ms Gooch said.
“Straight after it happened we called Essential Energy who said they hadn’t heard anything about it… they said someone would be there very quickly and before I knew it four or five vehicles were down the bottom of the hill and men were up the ladder isolating a line,” she recalled.
“I’d say six of the neighbours, including my husband, were down there asking questions about it.”
Ms Gooch said while the incident has been an inconvenience for a number of Ada St residents, she couldn’t fault Essential Energy on their response.
“Each time I spoke with them they were very good and they dropped a letter around explaining what had happened,” she said.
“We now have to put a claim in and what happens from there we don’t really know.
“My main concern is for the people who may have been impacted by this and don’t know the cause, so they can have an idea.
“This sort of thing is a bit hard for some of us to take.
Some can’t afford to replace or even repair some of those big items.”
Mr Green said the incident occurred following a fault on service main that supplies a particular home on the street.
He apologised for the inconvenience and committed to consultation with impacted customers to cover the costs.
“Essential Energy experienced supply issues in Ada Street, Goulburn on Wednesday November 12, 2014 when a fault occurred on service mains that supply a particular residence,” Mr Green said.
“A specialist contractor, engaged by Essential Energy, has responded to the concerns of 20 customers who may have received higher than normal voltage resulting in damage to electrical installations and equipment.
“Affected equipment has been assessed and repairs made where possible, at no cost to customers. Essential Energy is now consulting with customers on an individual basis regarding reimbursement for equipment requiring replacement.
“Essential Energy apologises for any inconvenience or anxiety caused by the supply issues and thanks customers for their patience and understanding as we work with those who may have been impacted.”