Cllr Haughey said, “Residents living in the Loughgilly area have contacted me concerned about ongoing power failures. In particular parents with young children, elderly residents and members of the farming community have contacted me after they suddenly lost electricity for a third time since December.
“Residents are rightly concerned about what is causing ongoing power failures and were also confused by mixed messages coming from NIE’s customer service line.
“I have contacted NIE firstly to report the power failures but also to ask for a full investigation to find out what is causing re-occurring power failure in this area. On Thursday evening last, 54 homes were without electricity – the evening was particularly cold and the sudden loss of electricity caught a lot of residents off guard. Many of them were preparing their evening meals.
“I am grateful for the swift reply from NIE to my concerns and on Friday a NIE official reported the outcome of their investigation into the problem. A piece on equipment on an electric pole near Tullyallen Church was severely bent which had caused sparks and resulted in a power cut. For this equipment to bend, it must have been hit by a large bird in flight – most likely a swan.
“NIE immediately replaced the broken equipment and replaced all fuses to restored power to the area. Local residents have since reported to me that there are swans in the area and they are concerned for the welfare of the birds.
“NIE have confirmed to me that they will monitor this situation and if there is another occurrence then they will look at installing distracters to ensure that the swans do not come into contact with the line or equipment on the pole – this would help ensure no future sudden losses of power and would also help protect the wellbeing of the swans in flight.
“I thanks NIE for their co-operation on this matter and I urge residents to continue to keep me informed if there are further problems so that I can ensure NIE take necessary steps to install the distracters.”
ENDS