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C/2007/4827
Ms W didn’t feel her complaint was being taken seriously by her local electricity distributor. She said that, for many years, there’d been a power pole on the nature strip beside her property.
In late 2006, the pole was upgraded. A new pole with a new transformer was placed several metres closer to her home. The problem for Ms W was that, after the works, an annoying vibration and buzzing noise came from the pole. She said this affected her enjoyment of her property and was particularly noticeable in her back yard.
Ms W had tried to resolve the matter directly with her local distributor. She said the distributor had undertaken a number of inspections of the pole, but assessed the noise levels as normal and acceptable. It had also suggested she plant trees or put in a water feature. Ms W found these proposals unacceptable.
In investigating Ms W’s complaint, we sought advice from other distributors about industry practice in this type of situation. We found they’d probably remove the transformer and/or the pole — if the noise levels were outside the allowable standard.
We undertook a site visit, to hear first-hand the extent of the buzzing — and found it to be clearly audible, irritating and quite noticeable in Ms W’s garden. We also undertook a local kerbside inspection listening to new and old transformers of a range of sizes. Having done this, we decided there was a need for further investigation.
Before arranging for a report from an acoustics engineer, we undertook another site visit, accompanied by distributor representatives. This time, however, there was no discernible noise coming from the transformer — even though conditions were similar to those on the day we first visited.
Given our initial experience, the distributor made further visits to Ms W’s property. It subsequently advised that, as an intermittent fault had been detected, the transformer would be replaced. It said it would pursue the problem with the manufacturer — given it was the first fault of this type found in what was a new range of transformers.
This case highlights the importance of companies keeping an open mind — even if the complaint seems to be at odds with their initial findings. It also illustrates the value of a site visit to experience the customer’s situation first hand.
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