As residents of Midge Point QLD, Australia, my household and others in the surrounding suburbs are fed up with the constant power outages, associated loss of stores and appliances and blatant lack of meeting service level agreements provided by Ergon Energy, a subsidiary company of Energy Queensland Limited (EQL) a Government owned corporation, which is owned by the Government of Queensland.

The situation has become so dire that it is worse than any third world country some of us have visited. Seriously, without exageration.

We pay our bills on time, trust that their service will run out appliances and ovens to cook. Power our vaccum cleaners, laundry and dish washers to maintain health and hygiene. Refrigerate our stores as we live so far away from any semblance of convenience so we must constantly be prepared for essentially anything.  We need fans and air conditioners to keep us cooler and allow us to sleep and remain comfortable in this climate. We require lights to let us see in the dark and at night. These may seem like simple asks but we are an aging community reliant on the simple services that create the foundation of any country that considers itself a first world nation.

However, the residents here are constantly left in the dark and removed from the media circuit as we are on the furtherest outskirts of the Mackay Shire when it comes to public infrastructure issues, ie water, and void of any accountability, apology or competition from the state owned entity, Ergon Energy.

On Christmas day, a day meant for joy and celebration with loved ones, the entire suburb, including the adjacent townships of up to 957 households, were left in the dark while preparing our Christmas dinner. This is not just an inconvenience; it's a breach of trust between us as consumers and Ergon Energy as our service provider.

According to data from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), there has been a significant increase in power outages across Queensland over recent years. This lack of reliable service is unacceptable considering that electricity prices have also risen during this period (Australian Bureau of Statistics).

We demand infrastructure upgrades, credits on our bills and in some instances refunds for these constant disruptions which not only affect our daily lives but also pose safety risks for the food we have stored in refrigerators and freezers, and especially during night-time when visibility becomes an issue due to lack of lighting and the appliances lost due to spikes and surges due to inconsistent, unreliable, supposedly standard services.

Accordingly, we demand three things from Ergon Energy:

1) Immediate upgrades to the local network infrastructure ensuring stable electricity supply, like a sub station.

2) Compensation credits for customers affected by these frequent blackouts which lead to damaged appliances and lost food stores.

3) replacement or refund for damaged personal equipment and food items lost

We are living in a cost of living epidemic. A pandemic even, but we are focusing on our local community at present.

It's long overdue that Ergon Energy takes responsibility for its service failures. We deserve better than constant disruptions that cost us time, money, peace of mind and associated stresses that come with working full time, losing the months food supply and now needing to replace the appliance that blew, the food it contained and finding the time to shop for all the pieces.

It's high time Ergon Energy takes responsibility for their inconsistent services and provide compensation to its customers who have been adversely affected by these frequent power outages. Sign this petition if you believe in holding Ergon Energy accountable for their actions or lack there of!