First, there was a loud bang. In some homes, there was a blinding flash.
Light bulbs exploded in their sockets, chargers flew from powerpoints, smoke rose from television sets. A mixture of air conditioners, fridges, computers and other mains-powered devices were left fried and inoperable.
John Morphett, who lives on Gatton Street, Farrer, said: "I was in the shower and the light just went bright as anything - brilliantly bright."
In some houses, everything was wrecked. In others, there was no impact. Residents say they were not able to discern any pattern.
Residents on Marshall and Gatton Streets and Spafford Crescent have explained how they came out onto the road right after the surge, trying to work out what had happened.
At 11am on Friday, January 20, a jolt of electricity surged through a cluster of more than 80 houses in Farrer.
A fault in a neutral conductor in Farrer caused a power surge, Evoenergy has said.
But in the weeks since, residents say, electricity grid operator Evoenergy has ignored their concerns and refused to pay to replace the damaged appliances.
The utility company, part owned by the ACT government, has instead agreed to pay the depreciated costs of the appliances, they say.
However, the depreciated value of a decade-old air-conditioner or refrigerator would not cover the cost of installing a new, working appliance.
'A huge disruption'
Some homeowners say their damage bills have grown to tens of thousands of dollars, with some left unable to cover the upfront costs.
Tony Hyland said Evoenergy's response had been abysmal.
"They give me the impression that they don't care. They've offered no support. They've just said, 'Put in a claim'," Mr Hyland said.
Mr Hyland said 17 of his appliances were destroyed, which he estimated would be worth between $25,000 and $45,000. He has made a claim on his own insurance, but said that on principle Evoenergy should be paying.
"We weren't looking to replace anything any time soon. Until this happened our lives were ticking along. We were without hot water for a week. We've not had heating or cooling since," he said.
"It's just been a huge disruption for something which they've done to us. The management of the fallout from this has been disgraceful."
Erin Flux said she and her husband, Marcus, had lost more than $20,000 worth of appliances at their Gatton Street home.
"We were told at a meeting we would be compensated at a depreciated value of each appliance according to age," Ms Flux said.
"This left us gobsmacked - not only was the fault not due to anything we had done, but we would be out of pocket when it came to replacing those appliances.
"It seemed, and still seems, terribly unfair."
Lyn Turner said the damage from the surge had taken a significant toll on affected residents. Her husband, who was undergoing chemotherapy, had been kept awake at night thinking about the costs of the damage, Ms Turner said.
Manpreet Singh has made a claim of $19,778 to Evoenergy for damage to appliances in his Marshall Street house, which he shares with his family and they bought only a month before the surge.
"Rather than having enjoyed our hard earned new habitat, we are living a miserable and stressful life since then. Many of the electrical items of daily use in our home have broken," Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh said the upfront costs was a huge amount to spend and he had been forced to take time off work to manage the repairs.
"Why should we be made to bear all this for no fault of ours?" he said.
Catherine Looram said her insurers had eventually agreed to pay for the damage at her house, but she said Evoenergy should be responsible for the costs of replacing damaged appliances.
'No claim black and white'
Evoenergy general manager Peter Billing told The Canberra Times he expected the vast majority of claims would be dealt with over the next fortnight.
"We've tried to go through a pretty solid process, but we're now committed to resolve or resolve these claims as quickly as we possibly can over the next few days," he said.
Evoenergy was committed to getting this done "as quickly as possible from here on in".
Mr Billing said residents would be required to sign non-disclosure agreements in cases where compensation exceeds Evoenergy's standard compensation policy.
"It would be at the point of time that they had agreed that our response to their claim meets their needs," he said.
Mr Billing said no claim would be black and white and most likely Evoenergy would pay beyond the amount covered by insurance.
Ms Turner said she had tried to call in a fault to Evoenergy the day before the surge but had not been put through by the call centre.
Ms Looram said she had also experienced flickering lights in the days leading up to the surge.
Mr Billing also said Evoenergy had responded to a fault report in the area the night before the surge, but could not conclusively say if the issues were linked.
Do you know more? Email jasper.lindell@canberratimes.com.au
After the surge, residents were required to engage an electrician on the Friday evening to sign off on the safety of their properties before the power could be reconnected.
Residents have said Evoenergy has agreed to cover the cost of the electrician call-out, but has delayed settling claims for damaged appliances.
The utility company called a community meeting last week.
Marisa Paterson, a Labor member for Murrumbidgee in the Legislative Assembly, has written to Evoenergy, calling on the company to pay full compensation for the residents' losses.
"I want to stress the substantial and ongoing emotional and financial toll that this incident has had on households," Dr Paterson wrote in a letter seen by The Canberra Times.
"I believe residents have acted in good faith and looked to Evoenergy for an appropriate, swift resolution, however, this has not happened and now they find themselves in desperate and heightened position, with many residents now facing a Canberra winter with no heater until this is resolved."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
