ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando family was surprised when a problem with a power line ended up frying some high-dollar equipment in their home.
Joe Thompson said they’re out of thousands of dollars, but the power company won’t reimburse them because of what they say caused the problem.
Thompson contacted News 6 and said his neighbor’s bamboo around the power line caused the problem, according to OUC workers.
He believes OUC should pay for the damage. Thompson said he called an electrician when the lights in his house started to flicker.
“We had lights in parts of the house that were bright, some were dim,” Thompson said. “You would open the refrigerator and the lights were dim so all sorts of weird stuff was going on over the weekend.”
The next morning when his nearly new dishwasher started to smoke, he knew there was a problem.Not only did he lose his dishwasher, but the control panel that operates his pool pump was fried too, and the LED light for his pool.
OUC found the electrical issue was caused by Thompson’s neighbor’s bamboo plants “rubbing against, and damaging OUC power lines,” according to an email shared with News 6 to Thompson from the company.
Thompson filed a claim to be reimbursed for his appliances, but the claim was denied.
“OUC does not assume liability for damage caused by private vegetation,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to News 6.
Thompson’s email said the same thing.
“I was dumbfounded,” Thompson said. “I didn’t understand it, because everything I’d ever seen or heard from the power company tells me that I’m not supposed to be pruning stuff under or adjacent to their lines for safety reasons.”
A brochure a company spokesperson sent to News 6 has “Important Safety Tips.” The second bullet point states, “Never attempt to trim a tree near power lines.”
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The email to Thompson went on, “Though not required to conduct such trimming, OUC does offer customers the option to contact OUC and schedule trimming of problematic areas.”
What complicates Thompson’s situation is the power pole is not on Thompson’s property. It’s on his neighbor’s property.
“Nothing on my side of the property was repaired,” Thompson said. “How is it my responsibility for stuff that’s not even on my property.”
Thompson believes OUC is responsible.
“I do. I pay my power bill every month. It’s OUC’s responsibility to get the power to me,” he said.
Thompson said he is out of about $2500 in damages.
The only recommendation OUC offered was to file a claim on his homeowner’s insurance, but with Florida’s crippled insurance market, he won’t do it.
“I’m not going to file a claim for a couple of thousand dollars. It’s not worth it to lose all of my insurance for the year,” he said.
If you would like to request trimming around power lines from OUC you can call 407-423-9018.
You can also make the request online, just click here.
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