Hamlet's bid to get switched on

The hamlet lies above the Conwy valley

Householders living without electricity in a remote part of north Wales claim they have a right to be connected to the mains grid, despite not being able to afford it.

The tiny hamlet of Ardda near Trefriw in the Conwy Valley is made up of three houses which depend on generators, candles and coal fires.

Residents have set up a campaign group to find a way of helping them to get connected to the national electricity supply.

The Mountain Occupiers Community Association says that high costs mean that people who cannot afford to have an electricity supply installed are missing out on a service which should be available to all.

Mike Kamp from the association told BBC News Online about their situation after reading about a village in Ceredigion which successfully campaigned to get switched onto the mains.

You are very limited in what can be achieved under the act if you are poor Mike Kamp, Mountain Occupiers Community Association

Twelve homes in Cwm Brefi near Tregaron were finally connected to the national grid this year after receiving a £100,000 grant from Ceredigion Council.

Mr Kamp says that electricity supplier Manweb has given them an estimated cost of £63,000 to get connected.

But none of the householders can afford the fee.

"The Utilities Act in effect prevents people from getting electricity," he said.

"The Electricity Act 1989 says that the provider must by law give electricity to the customer, but the proviso is that the customer must pay for it.

"So people with no money are denied the service.

I am used to living like this, but as I get older it's getting harder Carol Morgan

Ironically, the hamlet lies on land which was previously owned by the electricity board and is in view of the Moel Moelogan windfarm and the hydroelectric power station at Dolgarrog.

Carol Morgan has lived there without an electricity supply for 30 years and only realises how different her life is to everyone else's when she goes to stay with friends.

"It is difficult to remember life with electricity. It is only when I'm in other people's houses that I realise how easy their life is.

'Discrimination'

"We have to plan for our day-to-day life here and economize for it .We rely on candles for light and coal fires for heating.

"We have a small generator which is just about enough to power a TV, and that's about it.

"I am used to living like this, but as I get older it's getting harder," she added.

Ms Morgan, who is unemployed and lives with her two grown-up sons, feels that they are being discriminated against because they live in the mountains.

"We have tried to get grants but there doesn't seem to be any help available in financial terms," she said.

A spokesperson for Conwy Council said the group had approached them and that their European unit was looking at finding alternative ways of supplying electricity to the hamlet.

A Manweb spokesperson said that the cost of supplying to rural areas was higher, particularly in the Snowdonia National Park because of the need to lay cables underground.