The ESB broke my fridge...

kay!wilde

there was some fault in the electricity lines near my house last night, and it cut the power for a few hours. somehow, this fault seems to have broken my fridge.

i'm wondering if there's any way that the esb could end up paying for this, i mean, they did break it, technically.

i'm not sure if i have a valid case, or if i'm just being silly... ?
if this happened to you, would you follow it up?

dxhound2005

Give them a ring at the 1850 number at the bottom of this link. It does not mention fridges and it does not talk about compensation.

Make a note of the name of the person you speak to and let us know how you get on. You will probably need your ESB account number when you ring.


http://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/en/safety-environment/equipment_protection.jsp

ballsymchugh

don't quote me on this, but aren't you responsible for everything after the meter?? if there was a surge when the power came back on, then shouldn't a tripswitch have flipped?

kay!wilde

ballsymchugh wrote: »

don't quote me on this, but aren't you responsible for everything after the meter?? if there was a surge when the power came back on, then shouldn't a tripswitch have flipped?

that's possible, i really dont know. sounds like it makes sense, but it still seems silly to me that we have to pay to replace something that their mistake broke
the power outage was due to a fault in the lines. they weren't too specific, but from the bang, i'd say something fairly large exploded...

thanks for replying though, this is the sort of stuff i want to hear

ballsymchugh

kay!wilde wrote: »

that's possible, i really dont know. sounds like it makes sense, but it still seems silly to me that we have to pay to replace something that their mistake broke
the power outage was due to a fault in the lines. they weren't too specific, but from the bang, i'd say something fairly large exploded...

thanks for replying though, this is the sort of stuff i want to hear

there's an ESB forum here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1349

they may know more.

actually, have you checked the tripswitches?

Anchises

what happens when power is restored after a cut is that the load is so great on the system (due to everything being on) is that the voltage drops. As a result there is insufficient volts to turn the compressor in the fridge but enough to heat the motor coils to the extent that they overheat and short out. in a power cut you should turn off everything that has a motor

Or so I was told when my fridge failed after a power cut.

The ESB did send a man with a meter to measure voltage for 3 days, but that was after it was restored and working.

I bought a new fridge. No satisfaction from ESB

A.

bongi69

If the ESB won't cover it, your home insurance might. It'll be worth your while ringing your insurance company if you get nowhere with ESB to see if they will.

starfish12

bongi69 is right, its a house insurance issue not one for esb...ballsymchugh makes a good point they are only responsible for the meter, your house insurance policy may cover it

JDxtra

starfish12 wrote: »

your house insurance policy may cover it

Or at least the food that was in it...!

dudara

Moved to Talk to ESB Customer Supply

dudara

Davy

The voltage was probably still inside the allowed tolerance which is 207v-253v if i remember correctly. If you had a house full of appliances gone you might have a case, but one appliance could just be coincidence

kay!wilde

Anchises wrote: »

what happens when power is restored after a cut is that the load is so great on the system (due to everything being on) is that the voltage drops. As a result there is insufficient volts to turn the compressor in the fridge but enough to heat the motor coils to the extent that they overheat and short out. in a power cut you should turn off everything that has a motor

Or so I was told when my fridge failed after a power cut.

The ESB did send a man with a meter to measure voltage for 3 days, but that was after it was restored and working.

I bought a new fridge. No satisfaction from ESB

A.

that was actually very interesting- good to know! at least i know what happened now




yeah i'm looking into getting the house insurance to cover it. really i'm just annoyed because i've no way to keep my milk cold! haha

oh and sorry for not posting in the esb section ><

chillin_penguin

ballsymchugh wrote: »

don't quote me on this, but aren't you responsible for everything after the meter?? if there was a surge when the power came back on, then shouldn't a tripswitch have flipped?

I'm almost positive you are right!!

bassey

Also it's not ESB Networks fault that there was a disruption to the service, it's just they're responsibility to put it right. They can hardly be held accountable for the weather or whatever it was that caused the power outage.

EDIT: Unless of course it was a planned outage but you would have been notified about this if it was the case.

Electric Ireland: David

Hi kay!wilde,

As this forum is for ESB Customer Supply only, I can only be of limited help. I realise you didn't originally post this here, but just to clarify in case there is any confusion to those who may be browsing the thread: ESB Networks are a separate outfit from ourselves. They are responsible for the operation and maintenace of the grid, while we are a supply company who deal with the billing end of things.

However, I hope the following Networks' links may be of some help:

- Charges, policies and procedures

- What to do if there is a power cut

- Voltage problems

- Protecting your sensitive equipment (thanks to dxhound2005 for already posting this one)

ESB Networks can be contacted on 1850 372 757, or in the case of a power outage/emergency, 1850 372 999. You could also email them or visit their website.

I hope this information is of some help.

Thanks,

David.