I would like to highlight a stressful situation for me and my neighbours, that is being inflicted upon us through no fault of our own.

For a whole working day on April 6, SP Energy is going to cut off the mains power to our home, and 26 other local properties, so that an unnecessary mobile phone mast that has sat abandoned for over a year can be connected to the grid.

With Covid lockdown still in place, my wife and I are legally obliged to work from home – but we have been offered no compensation or an alternative power supply such as a generator to enable us to continue to do our jobs.

We are being forced to take unpaid leave or use our scarce vacation allowance just so that Telefonica and SP Energy can make more money.

We are not alone, as other neighbours include vulnerable people, parents with infants, elderly who are shielding and people running small businesses.

Despite many calls to SP Energy, they are refusing to offer any support and can’t even guarantee that the works will be completed in the time they specify. This could result in our freezers defrosting and food spoiling.

We won’t even be able to use our heating or telephones to call emergency services unless we buy a non-mains powered phone handset.

I think this is a terrible attitude to take by the utilities, and the landowners of the mast site, to put extra stress upon so many vulnerable people during a lockdown.

We should at least be offered compensation, generators – which should be paid for and installed by SP Energy – or the shut off should be delayed until after the Covid crisis ends and people are not having to shield and work from home.

Paul Harris

Tregynon