SSE aids Feudal-minded landlord to shut power off all day for whole village!

[LA2222]

We are incensed that SSE is allowing a wealthy local landowner (Mr David Morrison) to show such outrageous inconsideration to all the other residents of this village by shutting off our power for an entire working day because they want to bury their cables for purely aesthetic reasons.

Many of us have complained to Andy Gilroy, the person responsible for this work at Scottish and Southern Energy, and we have been told it is privately commissioned work, not improvement or maintenance work and it means all 60 homes will be without power on Tuesday 15th July from 8.30am until at least 4pm. He advised that we have to make alternative arrangements at our own expense.

We want to know if there are any legal avenues we can follow against the landowner or SSE to either stop this disruption or pay us compensation for loss of earnings and inconvenience.

Further, we have learned that a contractor working in preparation for this work caused a 5½ hour outage on Sunday 29th June, now to add insult to injury, all the people who work from home or run a business are effectively shut down on Tuesday 15th July for the day.

Our numerous elderly and infirm residents cannot even make a cup of tea and most communications are shut down without electricity, isolating people in their own homes without light or heat.
We have very poor mobile coverage.

We believe that generated power should be supplied to the village at the landowners/SSE's arrangement and expense.

We would appreciate any helpful advice.

The very disgruntled residents of Wedhampton, near Devizes in Wiltshire.

[vettles]

"...isolating people in their own homes without light or heat."

The work is from 8:30-16:00 in July, I don't think this is a big issue.

[MidniteScribbler]

It happens at times, works need to be done. We've had ours off for a days at time when the road outside was being surfaced and the cables put underground. It's ONE day. Make up a thermos in the morning for a cup of tea, have your shower before work starts. Or better still, go out for a day and get away with it.

[LIZS]

have you contacted MP ? I would have thought it should be possible to minimise the outage. Presumably you could still use mains gas to heat water, prepare meals or request that they provide generators?

[OwlCapone]

Buried cables wont get blown down in high winds so you could look upon that as a positive.

[firesidechat]

Most people won't need heat or light between those hours will they and sometimes work has to be done? I would prefer buried power lines in any case. It's only one day and they have been pre warned.

Wouldn't you be better off putting your energy in to helping those elderly and vulnerable people who will be inconvenienced by this?

[GretchenWiener]

isnt your MP the luscious Claire Perry?

I think you can cope with a few hours.
You knew the deal when you moved there presumably?

[GretchenWiener]

a wise energy supplier would have done a bit better PR though - offering gas stoves etc.
Or taking everyone out to lunch somewhere, a nice marquee, with sandwiches

[GretchenWiener]

the average price of property in Wedhampton being over 400k - think they can maybe manage

[AlpacaLypse]

Is David Morrison one of the family that used to be our MP way back?

I would write to Claire Perry, I've found her to be a good constituency MP so far.

[GretchenWiener]

she is certainly good at her own pr

[AlpacaLypse]

Gretchen despite your rather bitchy remarks there are actually still some relatively poor people left in the pretty villages of Wiltshire.

[GretchenWiener]

handbags

[LA2222]

Of course we'll cope for 1 day and of course there are many accidents & weather incidents that cause power outages that are much worse.

That's not the point.
The point is 1 wealthy person can cause 60 families to incur costs & inconvenience because he doesn't want to look at power cables across his fields about 500m from his part time multimillion pound residence.

No mains gas here, very poor mobile coverage and yes we run a business (as do about 10 other residents) from home and hence lose an entire business day at his whim.
The average property price in Wedhampton is significantly increased by value of said landowner's property and no, many are not near 400k, quite a few are rentals & just because some are wealthy here, others barely make ends meet working from home.
Numerous residents have been in touch with Claire Perry and SSE and the landowner (Morrison) to no avail.
Just another example of the rich & powerful (the individual and the power company) trampling the poorer folk underfoot.

[specialsubject]

warning; you won't like this...

corded phones work fine without mains power. If you don't have one in your house you are a bit silly, they cost a tenner. You are VERY silly if you don't have one in a mobile dead area. So no-one need be cut off and that argument is specious.

it is July, you don't need heat or light in the daytime. Another specious argument.

power cables aren't pretty for anyone to look at, and are much more resilient if buried.

all businesses should have alternative plans in case of power outage, because it happens.

in my part of the world we are trying to get a new power line buried rather than the cheap option of overgrounding. So what exactly is your problem?

as for the words feudal, rich, powerful and (bingo!) landlord: I remind you that jealousy belongs in the playground.

[Catsmamma]

err, your lecky is gonna be off for a whole day...you will be SAVING!!

[MidniteScribbler]

Good grief, over dramatic much?

[soberton]

SSE cannot guarantee power 24/7, 365 days a year and maintenance can be completed at short notice with no need for consent by the consumer. Burying cables underground can be a big positive and avoids cables coming down dangerously in high winds and in poor weather which in turn can cause HV/LV (high voltage/low voltage) faults and whole villages being off supply longer than a day needing a linesman to danger their lives restoring power. And when resources are short especially come the winter time, some customers can be off longer. Well done to the land owner to pay for the job which can help many. SSE are not the only Distribution company who cannot win in this type of situation, a paying customer commissions a job so if SSE refuse the job then the customer will not be pleased etc. One day in the Summer is better than one day in the Winter. Your MP will not be able to redress this as there are no service failings by SSE and the Ombudsman would not take this up with SSE due to this fact; it is a reasonable request.

[specialsubject]

deafening silence from the OP. Either the power is still off or she doesn't like what the likes of me have said...