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Power outage / power surge , liability ??

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  • 27-05-2010 8:27pm
    #1
    ninja 12
    Registered Users Posts: 954 ✭✭✭


    A quick question I hope someone can answer for me .

    We had a power outage on sunday in Louth (I'm in Castlebellingham) , the power flicked on and off for a few seconds and then went off totally for a few hours .

    When the power came back on , I discovered that my loftbox (sky signal distribution system) was dead . The power supply for it is fried .

    I was talking to a couple of neighbours and they have had similar problems , one now has a dead printer and another has a dead tv .

    I have only just discovered that my gas boiler is also dead (it hasn't been turned on since the weekend) , no lights are coming on , no activity - dead as a doornail :mad:

    I'll be ringing the ESB tomorrow .

    What are my rights regarding the ESB and liability , will they ignore me ? Fob me off ?
    Will they offer to fix anything ?

    Is anybody held responsible for events like this ?

    If I have to claim on my house insurance now , and it happens again in the future can the insurance company refuse to offer subsequent cover ?

    Any advise would be appreciated .

    Thanks in advance .


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    #2
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,544 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Something similar happened around us - all the houses in the street except us and next door. Electrical appliances went on fire all around the place. Fortunately it was 6pm and there was someone home in all the houses.

    Anyway the ESB sorted it, they collected all the damaged equipment and compensated people.


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    #3
    Guy:Incognito
    Registered Users Posts: 38,247 ✭✭✭✭Guy:Incognito


    Have you checked fuses etc?

    The boiler will have a spur box beside it with a fuse in it.


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    #4
    mal1
    Registered Users Posts: 811 ✭✭✭mal1


    Surely all the fuses should have stopped any damage??


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    #5
    ninja 12
    Registered Users Posts: 954 ✭✭✭ninja 12


    looksee wrote: »
    Something similar happened around us - all the houses in the street except us and next door. Electrical appliances went on fire all around the place. Fortunately it was 6pm and there was someone home in all the houses.

    Anyway the ESB sorted it, they collected all the damaged equipment and compensated people.

    Was this recent ? Whereabouts ?


    Stekelly wrote: »
    Have you checked fuses etc?

    The boiler will have a spur box beside it with a fuse in it.
    Checked the spur box , replaced fuse . Still nothing .

    mal1 wrote: »
    Surely all the fuses should have stopped any damage??

    I checked / replaced the fuses . Still not working .


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    #6
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,544 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    ninja 12 wrote: »
    Was this recent ? Whereabouts ?

    About 10 years ago in Waterford. There was a reason for the surge but I can't remember what it was.


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    #7
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭tommy21


    I don't mean to hijack the thread but since you got me thinking - If I have a normal extension plugged into one which protects against power surges, should anything in the normal one be protected too?


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    #8
    slimjimmc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,786 ✭✭✭slimjimmc


    Yes. BTW those surge protectors only protect against surges/spikes, they do not protect against brown outs (dips in voltage) or black outs. Some devices, eg. PCs can be vulnerable to such fluctations.


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    #9
    ninja 12
    Registered Users Posts: 954 ✭✭✭ninja 12


    looksee wrote: »
    About 10 years ago in Waterford. There was a reason for the surge but I can't remember what it was.

    Thanks for the info .



    Anyway , the other half rang the ESB and was given another number to ring . There's supposed to be someone calling out to us in the next week or so to have a look at the dead appliances (mine isn't the only dead boiler in the area) .

    Apparently , there's been a lot of calls , many people have damaged/dead electrical equipment in the area.

    The power outage/surge was caused by a fire in the ESB substation .


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