Farrer Road power outage leaves Boorooma residents sweltering in 44-degree heat

More than 80 households were affected by the planned power outage that went ahead during a 44-degree day.

Wagga City Council organised for Essential Energy crews to disconnect the electricity at Boorooma, so that a power pole standing in the middle of the new Farrer Road could be removed.

Frustrated resident Jenna Roberts said it was unsafe and unacceptable that the power was turned off on a day where extreme weather warnings were in place.

Related: School traffic impacted by Farrer Road reconstruction delays

Her home and many others were left without air-conditioning, fans and even cold water to stay cool and hydrated.

"I have animals, our neighbours have small children who are home throughout the day, we have elderly people in our street, but as much as we can check on them, it is not fair that they have to sit through this," Ms Roberts said.

"Turning it off on a normal day is an inconvenience, but turning it off on a day like today is simply unsafe.

"I understand the road needs to get built and the power pole needs to move and we have no problem with that ... but they can't respect the residents enough to give us comfort on an extremely hot day."

Wagga council's general manager Peter Thompson said the council was sorry the outage had fallen on a day that turned out to be one of the hottest days of summer.

The council arranged the pole's removal in December, however Essential Energy staff were not available to temporarily disconnect the power due to the ongoing bushfire emergency ravaging the state.

Mr Thompson said the council rescheduled the outage on a day where TRAC students were off campus and would cause minimal disruption.

But he said the council did not realise how severe the weather was going to be on the date set three week prior.

"Yes, we could have deferred it and pushed it later, but that would mean the road would need to be closed," he said.

"In no way, in the interest of public safety could we reopen the road with a pole that has been destabilised during construction."

Essential Energy's Riverina Slopes Operations Manager Shawn Eade said he understands the inconvenience power outages create for customers, particularly when temperatures are either warm or cold.

While there is never an ideal time for a power outage, Mr Eade said it is better to have a scheduled time for which customers can plan for rather than unplanned outages, which could cause lengthier disruptions.