Townsville Council Division 10 candidate Ben Fusco demands Ergon Energy action

A new council candidate has lambasted Energy Queensland over its repeated failures to deliver a reliable source of electricity to vast swathes of Townsville.

Ben Fusco, set to contest Division 10 as a candidate for Team Jenny Hill, has been helping with the clean-up in the community in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily. Picture: Supplied

A council candidate has lambasted Energy Queensland over its repeated failures to deliver a reliable source of electricity to vast swathes of Townsville.

Ben Fusco, set to contest Division 10 as a candidate for Team Jenny Hill in the upcoming local-government elections, said it was a well-known and recurring problem revolving around energy in rural suburbs of Townsville, including Alligator Creek, Cungulla and Nome.

“The Mayor’s office has had Ergon on site several times over a number of years, most recently it was only 12 months ago for community consultation,” he said.

“It was acknowledged that there was an issue and a plan was developed around an infrastructure upgrade but there’s been no action.”

Large swathes of Townsville City Council's Division 10 are still without power after Tropical Cyclone Kirrily with a candidate in the upcoming local-government elections says repeated power failures in rural parts of the city are unacceptable. Ben Fusco, set to contest Division 10 as a candidate for Team Jenny Hill, is urging Queensland Energy CEO Peter Scott to visit North Queensland in the wake of the disaster. Picture: Supplied

Mr Fusco, who has a background in major-project management, said he had been on the ground in the wake of Cyclone Kirrily to see large areas of Division 10 again without power.

“It’s devastating to see these people, for a Cat 1 cyclone essentially, without power out at Alligator Creek, and Cungulla, yet again.”

Ergon said 4500 customers were currently without power in Townsville, from a peak of 66,000 across the impact zone of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

The married father of two young children said he was sending Queensland Energy CEO Peter Scott a strongly worded letter demanding he visit Townsville in the wake of the disaster.

“I’m calling for him to come on site this week to meet with residents so we can understand why they’ve failed to implement the critical upgrades in our outer suburbs,” he said.

“These issues are just ongoing and numerous and I think it’s time we stopped talking about it and that Queensland Energy and Ergon management step up and do something for our outlying suburbs, in particular Division 10.”

Mr Fusco said he had no issue with the incredible efforts of Ergon’s front-line workers to restore power to much of Townsville.

“But, we shouldn’t be in this position.”

Ergon Energy have been contacted for comment.

Ergon said 4500 customers were currently without power in Townsville, from a peak of 66,000 across the impact zone.

“In the Burdekin, south of Townsville, we are very close to full restoration with around 100 customers without power. This is down from more than 9000 customers at the peak,” the company said in a statement.

“It has been a phenomenal effort from 750 crews working in heatwave conditions to restore power across a widespread area, from Ingham to the Whitsundays and west to Charters Towers.”

Originally published as Townsville Council Division 10 candidate Ben Fusco demands Ergon Energy action