ATLANTA,None — One day last June, the lights started flickering off and on at Leslie Estes house in Jasper County. Then her microwave fan went on all by itself. She also found smoke pouring out of her computer.
Ga. Power Won't Pay For Ant Damage
It was a similar scene at Carl Schieffelbein's house in Pickens County in July. He and his wife arrived home one night to ceiling fans spinning out of control. They also had problems with their automatic garage door and their television reception.
Nothing supernatural was happening at either house. In fact, what happened is being called an act of nature.
"There was an ant colony inside the (electrical) transformer that had corroded the wires," said Estes.
Estes, Schiefelbein and many other homeowners across North Georgia have underground utilities from Georgia Power. Colonies of ants crawled into the transformer box the utility company keeps locked.
Estes said the Georgia Power technician who came to her house told her the utility sees this problem quite often.
The power surge caused by the ants destroyed Estes' computer, stereo, television, telephone, answering machine and microwave. She called Georgia Power to cover the cost to replace those items.
"They said they weren't responsible for any damages," said Estes.
Schieffelbein said the power surge at his house fried the stove, microwave, attic fan and several electronic devices. He estimated the damage at about $2,200.
He said he called Georgia Power to ask for help covering the cost and was told that is why he has homeowners insurance.
Schieffelbein pressed and said the company eventually sent him a check for $500. He said that's not good enough.
"This is a sealed box of Georgia Power's," said Schieffelbein. "It's a box that customers can't open to inspect."
Georgia Power officials told Channel 2's John Bachman they are protected from paying for the damage under regulations approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
"We do not pay for damages when it's an act of nature," said Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatright. "And we would consider ant infestation an act of nature."
Boatright said the company does routine inspection on the boxes, but because of the large quantity of equipment Georgia Power has in the state, inspectors don't open the boxes unless there is an issue.
"That's why we need customers to let us know when they see a problem," Boatright said.
Chuck Tindol of Allgood Pest Solutions said ants in power boxes, cable boxes, and heating and cooling units are common.
"They are looking for food, water and a place to live," Tindol said. "And you really can't get into the psyche of an ant, but there may be something about the current, the electrical pulse of the current, that attracts them."
Tindol said whenever you see a few ants, thousands more are nearby, and they can move their entire colony quickly.
Estes said Georgia Power treated her electrical box after the problem last summer, but she found the ants are back.
"So now I have to worry about (whether) this is going to happen again," Estes said. "Am I going to be at work and my house catches fire?"
WSBTV
