Energex and Ergon Energy have said that thousands of households are being exposed to electrical dangers, with some not recognising the risk, and others confused over whom to report it to.
Area Manager at Energex, Peter Lougheed said in the past 12 months Energex and Ergon Energy crews had been called out to nearly 2,500 premises to investigate reports of electric shocks.
‘That’s a three per cent increase on the previous year, but an even more worrying trend is the spike in calls from tenants who have informed their landlords and property managers about electric shocks, but have failed to urgently report it to Energex,” Mr Lougheed said.
“A tingle from a tap or from a power point isn’t the same as a leaky tap or other minor bit of household maintenance — it indicates an urgent, possibly lethal electrical problem and it needs to be reported and investigated quickly.”
He said anyone can and should report this kind of issue whether they were a homeowner, tenant or even a visitor to the property.
“We don’t care where the report comes from; we treat it as an emergency, and our crews are dispatched quickly to investigate,” Mr Lougheed said.
“We don’t charge for these urgent callouts, and if the issue is at our end, we fix it for free. If the problem is behind the meter — for example, in the wiring — it’s then up to the property owner to engage a licenced electrical contractor to fix the issue and make it safe.”
Head of Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office, Donna Heelan reinforced Mr Loughheed’s message.
“People often describe feeling a tingling sensation when touching metal objects like taps, or light switches, which is likely an electric shock,” Ms Heelan said.
“Experiencing an electric shock is serious and should be treated seriously — there’s no such thing as a safe shock.”
