An Angus woman who suffers from a chronic disease has spoken of her distress after being left without electricity suddenly and without notice.
Audrey Lewis (56), from a remote farm in Guthrie, was dismayed yesterday when electricians from Scottish Hydro Electric switched her supply off, citing safety reasons arising from faulty wiring.
Miss Lewis, who lives on incapacity benefits due to chronic pancreatitis, was then told that the responsibility for correcting the fault lay with her.
The two electricians she contacted were unable to restore her power, while all of the others that she attempted to contact were unavailable.
Miss Lewis has been left wondering what she will do should she have a healthcare emergency, as she is unable to charge her mobile and cordless landline phones.
She said, “I’m at the end of my tether. I’ve stayed in this house for 28 years and no-one has ever pointed out a problem with the electricity before. When they switched it off, I was left confused about what the problem was.”
She added, “I’m 10 miles from the nearest town and it’s really hard for me to get anywhere. All the food in my freezer is defrosting and I’ve had a banana and some peanuts for dinner. I can’t even get a cup of coffee, and what if I need to phone a doctor during the night and none of my phones are working?
“I’m also worried my goldfish will be dead in the morning because they need hot water.”
Miss Lewis also admitted she would struggle to cope with the expense. She said, “My partner died two years ago and had no life insurance. Since then, I’ve really been struggling to pay my bills and to keep a hold of the house.
“It costs around £90 to call out an electrician and then something like £50 an hour for them to deal with the problem.”
A spokeswoman from Scottish & Southern Energy, the parent company of Scottish Hydro Electric, said it had a “legal obligation” to switch off the supply at Miss Lewis’ home as it was “completely unsafe.”
She said, “As a resident at the property, Miss Lewis is responsible for having the problem fixed. It really needs to be sorted before we can reconnect the supply.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user medea_material.