Over the course of several weeks, residents of Midge Point, Bloomsbury, and Laguna Quays have been inundated with extreme power loss and shortages, hindering holiday plans and causing undue stress during the summer heat.
Turning to their community Noticeboard on Facebook, residents outlined their frustrations and displeasure with the unprecedented power outages.
One resident, taking to the Noticeboard stated on December 27, “Ergon needs to take one month off everyone's monthly connection fee, because honestly, we've had no power, more often than we've had power.”
“Four hours on Christmas Day with no power, now again tonight? Yeah refund the entire month's power bill Ergon Energy and say sorry and MERRY CHRISTmas to everyone.”
Another resident shared “Just called them and the recording said we should be restored by 7pm. Luckily it wasn't a real person. I'm struggling to stay nice.”
Resident Timothy O’Neill opened a petition, calling for infrastructure upgrades, refunds and credits to accounts, and funds to replace damaged electrical appliances and food loss.
“We are living in a cost of living epidemic,” Timothy stated.
“A pandemic even, but we are focusing on our local community at present.”
According to the petition, on Christmas day alone, “a day meant for joy and celebration with loved ones, the entire suburb, including the adjacent townships of up to 957 households, were left in the dark while preparing our Christmas dinner. This is not just an inconvenience; it's a breach of trust between us as consumers and Ergon Energy as our service provider.”
Member for Whitsundays, Amanda Camm thanked the residents of the community for how they have handled to power crisis.
“I know many have been impacted by the recurring power outages and whilst incredibly frustrating and inconvenient, the community has responded in a supportive and positive manner and I sincerely thank you.
“The latest update I have been provided from Ergon is that weather has damaged some parts to the system and they are currently finding those parts and replacing them. In the meantime, they are feeding the power into the area another way which should see improvements to power supply.”
If you are a resident of Midge Point or surrounds, and wish to sign the petition, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/47qZq43
