A group of Alexandra residents say they remain sceptical of explanations from Aurora Energy representatives about the cause of a fire near power lines last month and are angry media were excluded from a meeting about the issue.
But Aurora general manager operations and service delivery John Campbell says the meeting was ‘‘useful and constructive’’, and has put forward ‘‘new information’’ about the cause of the fire, which happened after a power line came down near Jolendale Park, on Bridge Hill.
An Aurora spokesman earlier this month said the fire was caused by a tree falling on to power lines, but the residents rejected that, as the tree they believed Aurora was referring to fell away from the power lines, which broke 30m away from the tree.
Mr Campbell this week said through a detailed investigation Aurora had ‘‘been able to add to our preliminary understanding with new information’’.
‘‘What [now] appears most likely is that a tree branch, a kilometre from the site where the line came down, clashed with overhead lines, that likely caused a current surge which caused the damage at the point where the line came down.’’
The updated information was given to a group of Bridge Hill residents who requested and had a meeting with Aurora representatives on site last week.
The residents said they had asked for media to attend the meeting but Aurora representatives had repeatedly refused, a manager saying in an email, ‘‘As discussed we’d like to meet you [residents] face-to-face first and then we can follow up with [media] afterwards’’.
At the meeting, Aurora representatives again said they did not want media at the meeting, as it would ‘‘distract’’ Aurora from the job they were doing, Bridge Hill residents Glenda Thompson and Ingrid Mueller said.
But an Aurora spokesman denied media were excluded.
‘‘The meeting was arranged in response to a request from residents, media were not excluded. As always, we are more than happy to provide you [media] with a response and update on any community issues.’’
Mrs Thompson said she was ‘‘dubious’’ of Aurora’s updated explanation about the cause of the fire. She described the Bridge Hill meeting as a ‘‘PR exercise’’ and said the Aurora representatives ‘‘redirected’’ residents’ questions.
Mr Campbell said it was a ‘‘useful and constructive meeting’’.
The residents said they were still concerned by the age and poor condition of the power line going through Bridge Hill.
Mr Campbell said 66 households were connected to the 11,000 volt line and its capacity was ‘‘adequate’’ for the connected customers. The section of the line going through Jolendale Park would be replaced and was being redesigned, he said.
