Repeated power cuts are putting my life at risk
BBCA woman who relies on electricity-powered medical equipment to help her breathe while she sleeps says her life is being put at risk because of repeated power cuts.
Sharon Dudley, who has sleep apnoea and uses a CPAP machine to help keep her airway open, lives in Lydiard Millicent, Wiltshire, which has seen intermittent power cuts for two weeks.
The 56-year-old said the longest outage lasted about 11 hours and her life is put at risk during every minute her device is turned off when she is asleep.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it has now provided Dudley with a "back-up battery power supply", and the faulty generator repair works are expected to be completed by the end of the week.
Sleep apnoea is a serious disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night.
"I use a CPAP machine...I have to wear a mask and it provides air. But obviously with the power cuts, it doesn't work," Dudley said.
More than 100 homes have been impacted by the repeated power cuts and the village's local school also had to close for a day.
"The likelihood of an accident, whether it's somebody elderly falling down the stairs or even somebody who's not elderly, a kid falling and rolling down the stairs - accidents happen and I just wouldn't like it to be a fatal one.
"We need decision making, we need it quickly, we need better communication from the company," she added.
Another resident, Joyce Pheby, 83, said she had not seen power cuts like it in the 42 years she had lived there.
"They are just getting silly now...we're used to not having lights around here. We have no street lights in the road, but I don't think it's good enough to continually keep going off time after time," Pheby said.
A temporary generator installed by SSEN needs "re-fuelling constantly" and keeps breaking due to a "faulty switch", Pheby added.
A spokesperson for SSEN said it had since deployed a new generator to further reduce the potential for "unplanned outages".
They continued: "We're aware of a customer, living in the area of the fault undergoing repair, who's already signed up for our Priority Services.
"We've worked with them over the course of the weekend to provide them with appropriate additional support measures in the form of a back-up battery power supply.
"We hope this will give them greater reassurance at what we know is a worrying time for them given their particular circumstances.
"We'd like to apologise to them - and all affected customers - for any further stress they may have experienced at this time."
Councillor Martin Smith, cabinet member for highways at Wiltshire Council, added that emergency works to restore power can begin without waiting for a permit, as the application can be submitted retrospectively.
Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
