Rugby World Cup 2023 final: How Whanganui woman saved neighbourhood from missing big game

Val Bristol (right) and her neighbour Lynda Johnson will be cheering on their favourite team from the comfort of home now that a power outage has been averted. Photo / Bevan Conley

Residents of Whanganui’s Bedford Ave will be cheering on the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final from the comfort of their own homes, thanks to the tenacity of Val Bristol.

A power outage was scheduled for Sunday morning, the same time New Zealand are set to take on South Africa for rugby’s biggest prize at the Stade de France, meaning rugby fans on the Gonville street would have been left in the dark.

So Bristol contacted retailer Genesis Energy and then supplier Powerco to request that the outage be rescheduled to a more convenient time.

“I thought that if the work could be done on another day, then it was worth my time and effort to see if I could make it happen,” Bristol said.

“I knew that all of our street would be affected and possibly some nearby streets as well. We’re all older people and the idea of sitting in the pub to watch the final just wasn’t appealing.”

Bristol said she woke up on Tuesday morning determined to appeal to the people with the power.

“Genesis Energy had sent the notification so I called them first, and after I waited a while, my call was picked up by Cameron, who was very helpful.

“We laughed about the bad timing of the outage and he told me to call Powerco.”

Bristol said she was determined to get through to the right people and spent a bit of time waiting to hear back from a company representative who could help.

Later in the day, Bristol and her neighbours were advised that the maintenance work could safely be postponed for a week and they would have power to watch the final on Sunday.

“It just goes to show that one consumer can make a difference if you have the time and determination,” Bristol said.

Neighbour Lynda Johnson said everyone was delighted with the results of Bristol’s tenacity.

“We were all annoyed about the timing but Val was the one who got on the phone and sorted it out.”

Bristol said she didn’t blame the company as the person who scheduled the work was probably not aware that it clashed with the World Cup final.

Powerco general customer manager Stuart Dickson said the company was delighted to come to the rescue of Whanganui rugby fans.

“We try to schedule planned outages for a weekday when most residents are at work and the disruption is minimal, however on this occasion, because of the impact on commercial customers, we had opted to schedule it for a Sunday instead,” Dickson said.

“Postponing planned outages isn’t something we’re always able to do, but we understand that the impact on families over the weekend is significant. Therefore on this occasion, after considering customer feedback, and the nature of the maintenance work, we were able to postpone it to the reserve date the following Sunday.”

Dickson said the planned maintenance work was for the replacement of a cross-arm and could be safely postponed.

“We’re pleased that postponing this important work has the added benefit that our customers - and crews - can instead spend this Sunday watching the game.”

A Genesis Energy representative said the company was pleased to have played a part in facilitating a happy ending.

“Genesis was happy to help direct our customer to the organisation which could respond to her request. We’re pleased there was a successful outcome.”

Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.