LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS - Residents of Norman Wells will not be able to claim compensation from the town for damages after a Dec. 21 power outage led to frozen water and sewer lines, said deputy mayor Frank Pope.

"The town doesn't distribute power, they distribute gas," he said.

Seamus Quigg was out of town when the three-hour power outage occurred. He returned to find his home completely frozen.

"Once the temperature dropped down to -30 or whatever it was, the hot water tank cracked and all the toilets in the house froze solid. All the showers, anything with water in the line popped," he said.

So far, he has replaced a toilet, shower and a hot water tank and he estimates the damages will eventually be "in the neighbourhood of $10,000."

At a special council meeting, it was decided that the town is not liable for damages relating to the outages and that any requests for reimbursement would be directed to Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

"Fault can be easily placed so you've got to make sure it's pointed in the right directions," added Pope.

Quigg said he doesn't understand why the municipality is sending this problem to Power Corp.

"I have a contract with them (the Town of Norman Wells) to supply me with gas and they send me a bill every month," Quigg said.

He said it was like being told by a mechanic to contact an automobile-part manufacturer like Magna, instead of dealing with the problem himself.

Mike Bradshaw, a spokesperson the power corporation, said each claim is investigated individually and it's too early to tell whether Quigg will receive any help from the company.

"Anytime we receive a claim we investigate," he said. "I'm not sure how this one is going to shake out."

Quigg Maintains it was the town that installed the manual regulator devices, so it is responsible for adjusting them when a power outage occurs.

"It's a 10 second job to restore it," he said, estimating there are probably only five other people in Norman Wells with a similar apparatus.

North-Wright Airways received a $6,000 reimbursement from the town for a water pump, pipes and lines in an outside utility building because of a different power problem on Dec. 3.

"We just basically sent them a bill and they paid it," said Andrew Bailes, manager of business development for the airline, adding he received reimbursement from the town right away.

Pope said the two outages on Dec. 3 and 21 were completely different situations and household damages due to power supply are not the municipality's responsibility.

Bailes said Quigg's situation is unfortunate and he hopes the town will automatically reset the regulators next time there's an outage.

"I feel really sorry for Seamus," he said. "I mean the town knows who's got these regulators."

He added that if any good can be taken away from the incident, it's an illustration of how important it is to appoint a friend or neighbour to observe one's vacant property, no matter how long it's empty.

Residents can also go one step further to prevent any damage to their homes while they're away, he said.

"I drain all the water out before I leave, in the odd chance something goes squirrelly," he said. "It's a little bit of Northern savvy."

Pope agrees and said if residents are going out of town they should inform the municipal office about it.

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