The fate of Mossman’s electricity supply hangs in the balance in the leadup to Ergon Energy’s decision on whether or not to to switch the town’s power to an upgraded line. 

Mossman’s electricity currently comes through the 66-kilovolt Mareeba-Mossman line, held up on wooden power poles. 

The Rocky Point-Port Views Estate Community Association has lobbied for several years to have the town’s supply switched over to the new 132-kilovolt feeder line that supplies Port Douglas, which is constructed from modern steel stanchion towers. 

The Association blames the condition of the old wooden Mareeba-Mossman line for numerous power outages in recent years and claims switching to the new line would keep the lights on for about 7,500 of the shire's residents. 

“It’s extremely frustrating to look across the water and see the lights of Port Douglas burning brightly while you’re sitting there in the dark eating cold beans from a can,” said Association secretary Malcolm McKellar. 

“Our research - and that of Ergon Energy, we’re going off the same numbers - show that at least 50 per cent of the outages in the Mossman area can be attributed to failures on the Mareeba-Mossman line. 

“These poles are relatively small, the wood rots, they’re not as tall as the trees so branches will fall on them and they aren’t getting into any better condition, that’s for sure.”

Ergon Energy, however, says the situation isn’t so simple. 

“This is not an accurate reflection of historical causes of power interruptions,” said Ergon Energy Far North corporate communications manager Mark Timmerman. 

“An assessment of impacts to the Mossman district’s power over recent years has indicated that a majority of power interruptions could not be attributed to failures of asset deficiency of the Mareeba-Mossman 66-kilovolt line. 

“In fact, even in the worst recent storm season of 2011-12, it was found that interruptions attributed to the 66-kilovolt line were not only the minority of interruption duration, but related primarily to lightning impacts, not a deficiency of the line itself.”

Mr Timmerman said that in addition to lightning strikes, problems with the local power distribution grid for the Mossman district were behind a large chunk out outages, and that Ergon was already working to fix these problems. 

“Investigations have revealed that impacts beyond Ergon’s control on the local distribution network have been the source of most previous issues relating to power interruptions,” he said.

“Ergon has already been making improvements to multiple sections of the local distribution network to improve reliability.”

Ergon’s internal review committee is expected to not approve the rebuilding of the Mossman substation when it makes its decision on Friday. 

Mr McKellar puts this down to cost-cutting measures, and vowed the the Association would continue to lobby for the new line even if Ergon decided not to proceed with it. 

“This project and our campaign to bring it to fruition have been strongly supported by local and regional Ergon management and our state, federal and local government representatives,” he said.

“A year ago the project was an ‘almost certainty’ to proceed - but the new state government has come in with a clearly stated intention to save money,” he said. 

“Doubtless this message has gone out to government instrumentalities like Ergon.

“The bureaucrats are saying to each other ‘well the mob up in Mossman has had the same old power for 20 years, let them have it for another 20’ - what they’re doing is covering their arse, even though the costs of maintain the old 66-kilovolt line must be significant. 

“I think it’s disgraceful.”