ESB promises permanent repairs after apologies for ongoing power failures
By Maurice Garvey
A NUMBER of power failures in the last month has caused frustration for residents in a Clondalkin estate.
Harelawn residents say power went on Sunday, July 29, between 4.45pm to 6pm, before ESB crews attended the scene to get it back working immediately. The crews remained on site until 9pm.
Lisa Cawley with her daughter Erika
This follows previous incidents in early July, when the power went in the area from 5am to 3pm, and another power cut in February, which lasted from 5pm to 9am the next morning.
The ESB attributes the first two incidents to a cable fault and says the latest was caused by a “separate fault in switching gear”.
A spokesperson for ESB Networks said they were “acutely conscious of the inconvenience” caused to families in the area, and that they plan to work on a permanent repair in the coming weeks.
The utility provider says residents will always receive prior notice before any planned works are due to take place.
A permanent solution is what Harelawn parent Lisa Cawley is looking for.
Her daughter Erica (8) has Dravet Syndrome, a form of severe epilepsy, and requires electricity for her bed, a breathing machine and refrigerated medicine.
Huge concern
“When we got home on Sunday from Bray, neighbours told us the power had gone again, and the ESB workers had a generator with them, but did not expect power back for a few days.
“It did come back on but by that stage I had already packed Erica’s bags for hospital. It is a huge concern that the problem hasn’t been fixed yet. I just hope they fix it once and for all.”
Another resident said the power cuts were an “unwelcome regular occurrence” and he was making a complaint to the Commission For Regulation Of Utilities (CRU).
ESB Networks confirmed approximately three separate outages around Harelawn Avenue and Harelawn Drive in the last month.
A spokesperson said the permanent repair to these issues will require the replacement of “approximately 250 metres of overhead line in the area”.
“ESB Networks will be making the appropriate arrangements to affect this repair in the coming weeks.
“This unfortunately will require a planned outage for some residents in the area, who will be notified in advance of this work.
“We once again apologise to residents around Harelawn for the obvious inconvenience caused by these faults, and thank them for their cooperation as we put in place a permanent repair to this section of network.”
