Toowoomba residents angry at Ergon after being left without power for nearly 12 days after Christmas Day storm damage

A pair of Toowoomba residents say Ergon’s communication skills are partially to blame for why they were without power for nearly two weeks.

UPDATED: Angela Warren and her neighbour Daniel Abad have not turned on a light, run airconditioning or used a toaster at their dwellings in nearly two weeks – a situation she calls a “nightmare”.

“I’m nearly at the point of tears – I’m beginning to think we’re being forgotten,” the Toowoomba woman said.

The pair, who have been without normal power to their Rangeville duplex since the evening of Christmas Day due to storm damage, say they can’t get an answer out of Ergon as to when the lights will be back and have slammed the provider’s lack of communication.

Ms Warren and Mr Abad only got reconnected to the grid on Friday afternoon, following in quiries from News Corp into their situation.

Rangeville residents Angela Warren and Daniel Abad say they have been left without power at their Alderley Street duplex since Christmas Day, arguing Ergon had failed to communicate properly with them.

Mr Abad said the Alderley Street dwellings, which shared the same powerbox and access point, lost their connection on December 25 when a large section of a street tree broke from the storms — pulling down the line and damaging the infrastructure on the house.

“On Boxing Day they came back to assess the damage, and that’s when they told us the point of access was no longer up to standard and it had to be changed to reconnect the power line,” he said.

The tree branch that cut power to Angela Warren and Daniel Abad's duplex on Alderley Street in Rangeville.

Ergon crews placed the necessary paperwork in Mr Abad’s mailbox, however he said they neglected to inform him of that fact.

“They put a piece of paper (in my mailbox) but they didn’t have the decency to give it to me (or tell me),” he said.

“I said to them (when we rang the next day), how many people check their mailboxes on Boxing Day?”

Two days without power at this point, Mr Abad and Ms Warren contacted an electrician to create a new access point (at their cost) and file the paperwork and reconnection request with Ergon as per the process.

After some initial confirmation emails from the company confirming the electrician’s request had been submitted, the pair said they couldn’t get anyone from Ergon on the phone.

“The fact that the Ergon number will just not respond – one day I was on the phone for an hour and 45 minutes,” Mr Abad said.

In fact, Ms Warren said they only received an update from the provider about the situation on Friday, following News Corp’s inquiries to Ergon.

“This is why I’m so angry,” she said.

The pair’s neighbours graciously have allowed them to use extension leads to power their fridges.

However, neither had access to airconditioning during last week’s heatwave, and Ms Warren has been forced to cook dinners on a portable gas stove.

Rangeville residents Angela Warren and Daniel Abad say they have been left without power at their Alderley Street duplex since Christmas Day, arguing Ergon had failed to communicate properly with them.

A spokesman for Ergon did not comment on the specific matter, but instead the company needed written notice from an electrician confirming all dwellings at a location were safe to reconnect.

“Where there are multiple customers at the same property or address, it may be necessary for the electrical contractor to lodge an electricity work request on behalf of each customer to ensure return of supply,” he said.

“Where customers have had work completed by an electrical contractor and supply has not been returned, they should contact that electrical contractor to make sure all steps have been taken to advise Ergon Energy is aware the property is safe to re-energise.”

It is a situation Mr Abad predicted, saying he called the Toowoomba Regional Council on multiple occasions in recent years to get them to trim the tree.

“I rang council three or four times over the years — and to their credit each time they came — they had a look and said the tree was fine,” he said.

“The height was really a concern, because of the increase in storms – I knew it was going to happen and unfortunately it happened on Christmas Day.”

The council was contacted for comment.