February 27, 2015
Electrical Trades Union volunteers will be heading north next week to do electrical safety checks and remedial connections for community clubs, not-for-profit organisations, pensioners, sole parents and uninsured householders left devastated by Cyclone Marcia.
Operation Energise volunteers helped out after cyclones Larry and Yasi, The Gap storm, the Brisbane floods and in Bundaberg after Cyclone Oswald.
From March 3-13 they will be in the disaster-hit communities around Rockhampton and Yeppoon.
A union spokesman said Operation Energise would provide qualified tradespeople, materials and hope to stricken communities.
The aim was to provide short term power through the installation of power outlets and associated infrastructure into switchboards to allow power to be restored to houses prior to full-scale rebuilds.
ETU State Assistant Secretary Keith McKenzie will be co-ordinating the operation.
He said the installation of the outlets would provide power for cooking, reading, refrigeration and battery charging for phones and tools.
“Many of the people affected have lost almost everything and being left with a shell of a house without power can be overwhelming.
“What we aim to do is provide hope as the enormous rebuild occurs,” he said.
“We have seen a lot of frustration in the communities, they see or hear the power is back on, but because their houses or installations are unsafe they can’t be reconnected.
“We will be helping them get some sense of normality amongst the chaos.
“We would like to thank participating companies and contractors Powerlink, Bechtel, Zinfra, Electro Group Apprentices along with Energex and Ergon for materials and support, Coca-Cola Amatil for a generous supply of fresh drinking water, and of course the ETU volunteers who make this possible.”
