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BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO - A single mother of four living in Edzo says she’s angry with both the Power Corporation and Housing Corporation following a power outage that caused her waterlines to burst earlier this month.

Pauline Williah’s home was part of a large-scale power failure that happened at about 6.a.m on Jan.5. The power was finally restored five hours later at about 11 a.m. Not long after her waterlines burst and sewage system froze.

Single mother of four Pauline Williah said she’s been without water for more than three weeks following a power outage earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Pauline Williah

Not only is she upset about the length of time it took the power corporation to restore power, she said she’s livid the neighbouring community Rae was reconnected about an hour earlier at 10 a.m. At the time her infant granddaughter was staying at her home too.

After filling out an emergency assistance application with the Housing Corporation on Jan.15, she said she was told someone would get back to her. That, she said never happened. Although, housing corp. spokeswoman Paula MacFayden said a repair crew was sent to the home last Thursday, on the same day News/North interviewed both Williah and the Housing Corporation.

Williah, a territorial government employee, and her family were forced to move into her mother’s home, an inconvenience she wasn’t pleased with. She says she feels neglected by both corporations.

“It’s an emergency situation, so why wouldn’t they contact me sooner,” Williah said referring to the housing corporation.

Similarly, she said the power corporation could have done a lot more.

“Why am I paying for a service that I went without for five hours, and why did my family and other families in Edzo have to wait longer than people in Rae? I’m paying for a service like everyone else, so I should get fair treatment.”

NTPC spokesman Vaughan Slade said there were several communities affected by the power outage and each had to be reconnected one-by-one. He said there was little he could do for the family since a complaint hadn’t been issued to the company. He also defended the record of the crown corporation.

“We try to restore power as fast as possible, but it is a fact of living in the North and no power utility can guarantee uninterrupted service,” said Slade. “The majority of our outages are over in about an hour or two and we have a 99.97 per cent reliability record. That speaks for itself.”

The housing corporation’s vice president of programs and district operations, Franklin Carpenter said the repairs done to Williah’s waterlines will be covered under its emergency repair program. He said every application is delayed to ensure criteria is met, including whether the applicant falls under the low to moderate income bracket or to check whether money is owing to the corporation or government.

But for Williah that’s not good enough.

“I have four children,” she said. “I’ve been without water for three weeks. There should have been help sooner for me somewhere.”