A fence broke when a power pole fell on to an Alexandra property. Photo: Pam Jones
A fence broke when a power pole fell on to an Alexandra property. Photo: Pam Jones
By Pam Jones
A couple in Central Otago consider themselves lucky to have escaped injury after a power pole fell on to their property at the weekend.
Alexandra pair Danielle and Ryan Lomman were inside their Eureka St home about 7pm on Sunday when they heard a loud bang. A low-voltage (230-400 volt) power pole had fallen on to their fence, narrowly missing their house, but live wires had fallen on to the roof.
The pair praised the quick response of emergency services and also the support of neighbours. One neighbour, who was a linesman, called out for them not to touch anything in the house. They gathered their dog Hugo and left quickly without touching any metal surfaces.
They said they were grateful they were uninjured and that neither they nor their dog had been outside when the pole fell.
The power pole after it fell. Photo: Supplied / Otago Daily Times
Aurora Energy replaced the pole within about three hours, during which time electricity was cut to surrounding houses.
An Aurora spokesman said they had launched an investigation into the incident.
''Aurora Energy apologises for the incident and the interruption to power supply. Due [to] the seriousness of the event, we are conducting a thorough investigation and have notified WorkSafe. Preliminary assessment indicates below-ground deterioration of the wooden pole as the cause and that weather was not a contributing factor.''
Nearby poles in Eureka St were now being rechecked as a precaution, the spokesman said.
Contractors had also repaired the fence.
The spokesman said Aurora's fast-track pole programme had ''already removed the risk of 500 of the 1266 poles identified in Central Otago, or 40%. We are on track to complete the remaining poles by the end of year and currently have nine crews working in the region''.
Aurora did not respond to a question from the Otago Daily Times about whether the pole that fell was red-tagged or had any other warning category.
However, former Delta employee Richard Healey, whose revelations last year about Delta's power pole practices brought Delta and its parent company Aurora Energy under public scrutiny, said Sunday's incident had shown Aurora's power pole replacement programme was inadequate.
Mr Healey said the couple were lucky to have escaped unharmed, as any time live wires were on a house there was the potential for electricity to be conducted inside and make metal surfaces live.
''To anyone who says that wasn't dangerous, I would say to them - would you be happy if I laid live power lines over your roof?''
