TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — During a monsoon storm on July 14 a tree fell and brought the breaker box off a house down with it, and for more than two weeks following, the house’s residents were without electricity.
The storm hit the Northside neighborhood, near Flowing Wells and River hard on July 14, which was the day Claire Wilson planned to move into her new house.
“We were left without power pretty unexpectedly right when we really needed it,” Wilson said.
She says she then spent more than two weeks following the storm trying to get the power back on in the home she is renting.
“We have been on the phone with TEP, the city, our landlords and the landlords' electricians to try to fix the issue and we just keep running into roadblocks,” she said.
Joe Barrios, TEP Spokesperson, says if equipment on the customer's side of a meter is damaged, those repairs need to be done first.
“The safest thing to do is for us to not restore service to a specific meter so that the customer can complete whatever repairs to their home or their business or whatever the case might be before we restore service,” Barrios said.
Wilson says the new breaker box was installed last week by an electrician, but Barrios says they have to wait until they are notified that work is inspected by the local jurisdiction.
Barrios said, “Once we can verify that their equipment is correctly installed and adheres to all of our standards then we’ll be more than happy to come out as quickly as we can to take a look at the work, make sure it’s all done correctly and then we’ll be happy to restore service to them.”
However, Wilson says it all took too long. She said, “People who are left without power are usually already dealing with an emergency situation and them delaying getting the power back on creates a second emergency for people that they don't deserve to have to deal with.”
Power was restored Thursday morning at Wilson's home and she says it is such a relief to feel comfortable in her space.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
