NSW Fair Trading is warning apartment residents who might feel a slight tingle or shock when touching electrical appliances in their homes to report it straight away.
Strata managers, property agents, landlords and the strata committee have an obligation to act on these reports immediately.
The warning comes after a tenant recently reported intermittent electric shocks to their property manager, to which they did not receive a response. The tenant then engaged a contractor who alerted the electrical network operator, and a voltage of 232 volts on rainwater down pipes plus front and rear awning supports was discovered. In this instance, it was a network issue and was fixed by the operator. Had the problem not been resolved, a fatal incident could have occurred.
If you don’t receive a prompt response, NSW Fair Trading recommends contacting your electrical network operator directly. All operators will investigate reported public shocks at no cost:
Ausgrid: 13 13 88 Essential Energy: 132 080 Endeavour Energy: 131 003
If your operator does not respond in a timely manner, contact the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) for a free dispute resolution service.