The explosion of a transformer in the municipality of Esteller, Portuguesa state, has left some 90 families without electricity for more than 14 days.
The affected inhabitants of streets 1 and 2 of the La Marinera de Piritu neighborhood, denounced that the electrical failure has also caused the suspension of water service, which in the community is distributed by hydro-pneumatic pumps.
Maria Graterol, a resident from the community, told El Pitazo that two weeks ago, Mayor Lucidia Ruiz ordered a busted transformer replaced but the new only worked for two hours. “It immediately started to leak oil and smoke, until it exploded,” she said.
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The resident told that the suspension of electrical service also interrupts the water services. “We can’t start the pumps, which is where we get the water we use for everything, so we have to carry water from other areas to our houses. We called the mayor and she only tells us to wait, but we have 14 nights in the dark, with babies and old people suffering from this circumstance, and the heat of the season,” she added.
Besides the problem with the water, the electrical failure prevents them from cooking too. Due to the lack of domestic gas distribution, those who live in La Marinera use electric stoves.
“They haven’t sold us gas for a long time, and without electricity, we have to cook with wood that we must look for elsewhere, which forces us to violate the quarantine decreed,” said the complainant.
