When the village was without electricity for nine days following the recent storm, the husband and wife team shared the power from their personal off-grid array with the community.
"We’re solar powered, so I ran an extension cord out from our system so we could run the big chest freezer for everyone down in the courtyard by the road," Mr Somerville said.
As fridges warmed and communication was limited, locals came by to charge phones, check updates and use the freezer.
"The Wi-Fi was working so we got the Wi-Fi down in the courtyard," Mrs Van Der Sommen said.
"We have social media groups in the community so we were able to keep them updated with Civil Defence and council announcements."
The couple were keen to also acknowledge others who pitched in and checked up on neighbours.
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