Power Failures Investigation

12.00.00pm GMT Mon 17th Nov 2003

Duncan Hames visited the Melksham Electricity Depot last week to question Scottish & Southern Energy about the recent rise in power cuts in Holt and Broughton Gifford.

Cllr Duncan Hames and Kevin Welstead of Southern Electric checking out some of the latest replacement equipment.

At the depot he met their Performance Manager, Ian Crawley, and the Area Operations Manager Kevin Welstead, and asked what was being done to improve the reliability of local electricity services.

"It was a very productive meeting, Scottish and Southern have acknowledged there have been a lot of, mostly short, service interruptions since April, and are taking action to make these less frequent in future." said Cllr Hames after the visit.

The supply is thought to have been short-circuited the previous week by power lines moving when a bull rubbed up against a support cable on a local farm.

"The electricity company have erected guard fencing around a support wire to the overhead cable near Gaston Farm. They also have plans to replace the overhead span with covered conductor cable." added Cllr Hames.

"I will continue to monitor the situation closely" promised Cllr Hames.

"In the mean time, any resident experiencing a loss of power for about half an hour or more should call to report the incident on 08457 708090 - whichever company issues your electricity bill - but do check you 'trip switch' by your meter first."

Customers reporting incidents can help the electricity company identify and respond to the more localised power cuts quicker.