Power Cut Compensation

sparky40

Does anyone know anything about compensation payouts due to the recent power cuts?

Tried to google it but there doesnt seem to be anything recent, all dates back to cases in 99 and 04.

Just a general enquiry as a few members of the family have been without power now for over 48hrs and its not likely to go back on for a few more days. Not really an issue for some members but my sister has 2 small children and a few freezer fulls of food have been lost.

I fully understand that NIE are working as hard as they can to get this back on, this is just a query at this stage. Dont want to call NIE as I'm sure they are getting 100's of calls at the minute and have enough to do!

Thanks

Bigcammy

Page 2 of this document, item 2- http://www.nie.co.uk/niestandards.pdf

Golden_Anemone

Small print at bottom of page 2 reads -

While we do our utmost to meet or exceed these standards, some situations are outside our control and therefore these standards will not apply. Examples of such circumstances include severe weather, industrial
action, civil unrest, actions or defaults by others and the inability to gain access to premises.

Conor Bradford asked a NIE spokesperson this on Radio Ulster this morning and she said it would be a matter for the regulator to decide after the event.

warmhands.coldheart

I have to say, I was listening to the Radio this morning on the way to work and heard some guy interviewed and he was giving off about not having electric for 3 days... I thought to myself "what a of winging tw*t"

why is it always "somebody elses fault" and somebody else has to be liable and pay compensation for it. Is that not what Home & Contents insurance is for?

How the hell can NIE stop Nature from taking it's course. the idiot then went on to say that NIE should spend more money and burry power cables under the ground.... yeah great idea..... because I fancy paying £200/month for home electric... what a knob. (Sorry getting a bit angry now)

For god sake.... you can't blame NIE. they are doing all they can... why should they compensate people for something that is outside of their control?

If people took a bit more bloody responsibility for their own homes rather than looking for someone to blame. Are these people not capable of going out and buying a backup Gas camping stove for basic cooking or a backup gas heater for heating or for that matter going to a local hire shop and hiring a generator... Oh sorry that would cost them money!! which is the real issue here.. tight asses just don't want to spend any money!!

caz2703

Totally agree with the above statement. This is the problem with people today who expect to find blame when there are times that nothing could have been done to prevent it. What happened this week was totally unexpected. The fact that we have regular reliable electricity should be applauded. Look at the likes of South Africa where they have rolling blackouts which are part of daily life and I'm quite sure they don't have the same unpredictable weather we have.

I would like to congratulate NIE and SONI (who control our national grid) for the fantastic work they did in preventing total power loss to this country which I believe was more than just a close call. Sometimes these things happen and even though I'm not a believer, they are called Acts of God. Having a baby I am very relieved that power was not lost but we have a gas hob for heating food and water and if needed we could have use some camping gear for keeping warm. I feel for those who have lost power but there is nothing NIE could have done to prevent it. As for underground cables, the cost to install would be passed on to customers and to pay that amount extra on our bills for something that happens so rarely doesn't appeal to me.

Bigcammy

I'm connected with the electricity industry and I know just how much effort NIE are putting into their network, both for restoration of services and for call handling, network surveillance etc. I'm the first to complain of price rises and unfair treatment, but I think that they really are trying their hardest at the minute in extremely difficult conditions.

Lovetotravel

I was without power from Tuesday night until late last night and called NIE a couple of times for an estimation of how much longer I'd be waiting. The first lady I spoke to was quite rude and the second one was lovely.

They even rang us when it was switched back on to let us know, in case we had left the house. I thought that was nice. But it was just one of those things, NIE had no way of knowing the weather would be bad and I'm sure they did their best to get us going again.

I suppose all they can do is offer a reduction of the bill for the days when the service was unable to be provided, but again that wasn't their fault.

Money_Grabber13579

Lovetotravel wrote: »

I suppose all they can do is offer a reduction of the bill for the days when the service was unable to be provided, but again that wasn't their fault.

You will automatically get a reduction in your bill for those days it was unavailable. You haven't used any during the days it was off, so they can't charge you. Remember the meter?;)

wifeforlife

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

he was giving off about not having electric for 3 days... I thought to myself "what a of winging tw*t"

CAZ2703 Having a baby I am very relieved that power was not lost

I can fully understand this man whinging at not having electricity for 3 days. It's hard to do now in the modern age.

I was only without electricity for just over a 24 hour period and I quickly moved to my parents house after less than 10 of those hours. I've a premature baby and a 6 year old and let me tell you 24 hours was long enough for no power.

It's not about tv, or internet access. We rely on the electricity for our heating and food now. My electricity went out at 8pm so unfortunately no hire shops open, but also I have never been camping nor intend to, so wouldn't have a camping stove to hand. Why would I have these items for the 1 time in over 10 years something like this happens? As you say thats what insurance is for.

So for those who had no electricity for 3,4,5 or longer amount of period, I think they should be compensated for loss of food from their freezers at least in their properties. Why's it any different to when the floods happened? Our big ministers whipped out the money then and that was for big money items!

Sincerest applause to all NIE staff, the staff out in the weather but also the staff answering the calls, I'm sure they had been pushed to the limits.

Cate

irishjohn

cathy2702 wrote: »

So for those who had no electricity for 3,4,5 or longer amount of period, I think they should be compensated for loss of food from their freezers at least in their properties. Why's it any different to when the floods happened? Our big ministers whipped out the money then and that was for big money items!

Cate

I think the difference between the flooding and the loss of power was a recognition that not enough investment has been made in the drainage systems over the years and therefore a degree of government negligence was felt and hardship payments made.

I sympathise with those who suffered, but do not consider them to be entitled to any compensation - it was purely down to the extreme weather. We have to take some responsibility for looking after ourselves and to me that means house and contents insurance is a must, and we should also consider ourselves luck that in such a small country, most of us have close family nearby who we can turn to to provide some form of heat and shelter when a rare event like this occurs.

niceday999

will people be entitled to compensation for loss of food in their freezer ? mum threw all hers out you couldnt keep it to show anyone if you were entitles to compensation.