Robert Goestch isn't pleased when he's left in the dark.

When it happens to his father and the other elderly residents at University Village in Thousand Oaks, Goestch becomes downright irritated.

The Thousand Oaks man has experienced one too many power outages in his corner of the city, and the last straw came in June when a trio of blackouts took place in a week.

"Once again, those of us in north Thousand Oaks were subjected to another power outage last night for three hours," Goestch wrote to City Council members in June. "This is beyond ridiculous."

During one of the interruptions in electricity service early last month, Goestch went to check on his father, who lives in the senior citizen community near California Lutheran University. He found the older residents unable to use the elevator and having to take stairs to their homes after dinner.

"For me, I just can't watch the Lakers," Goestch said. "For them, they can't get upstairs."

He filed an informal complaint with the state Public Utilities Commission the next day.

The day after that the lights went out again, leading him to file a second informal complaint.

The particular circuit that serves Goestch's neighborhood has experienced three outages this year, Eva Weaver, a consumer affairs/review manager for Southern California Edison, wrote in a July 8 e-mail to Goestch.

Two of the outages were caused by underground equipment failures, and one resulted from a third party's digging into a cable.

The previous year, seven power outages occurred on the circuit. Five of them were caused by the failure of the underground equipment or cable servicing the area. The cause of the two other outages is unknown.

Repairs and upgrades to the infrastructure in the area are under way.

The cables are being replaced and equipment upgraded, Weaver wrote.

"Whenever we replace the equipment that has failed in this particular area, we try to replace a little bit more at the same time," said the utility's region manager Rudy Gonzales.

He added that the regional superintendent, who oversees operations, lives "on the same circuit as these folks. He is well aware."

Gonzales said that several years ago the city had a serious problem with power outages.

Grahame Watts, Thousand Oaks' emergency services manager, said things have gotten better.

"We are sensitive to it," Watts said of people's concerns. "We are working with Edison."

The next time the power goes out, Goestch wants a third party brought in to address the problem.

"It's like beating an elephant with a paddle," he said. "It doesn't really work."