Whistleblower and former Delta worker Richard Healey said Dunedin residents and especially those living, working or going to school near dangerous poles should "absolutely'' be worried.
It was "incredibly lucky'' a member of the public had not been seriously injured or killed in recent years.
"It's like playing Lotto.
"You haven't got much chance of winning Lotto, but if you buy enough tickets you increase your chances substantially.''
He urged residents to call Aurora if they noticed any worrying signs of damage on compromised poles shown in the map.
Mayor Dave Cull said given reviews were under way it was too early say whether the number of dangerous poles in Dunedin was a problem.
"Whether it is a problem remains to be seen by the review and I'm not going to pre-judge it.
"If the risk of the poles is not being dealt with properly we have a serious problem [but] I don't know if that's the case,'' Mr Cull said.
An Aurora spokesman did not reply to specific questions about the map or about the potential risk to health and safety, but said that of the 2910 poles across the entire network 1181 were identified as condition zero and 1729 identified as condition one for replacement in the next year.
Condition zero classified poles could fall over without any environmental influences and condition one poles could fall down in heavy wind conditions.
The spokesman said a physical inspection of all 2910 poles was being undertaken to re-verify the prioritisation of the maintenance and replacement programme.
That work was due for completion by mid-November
If any member of the public was concerned about the safety of poles in their area or any other network safety concerns they should contact Delta on 0800 433 582 or visit the Aurora website.
Given the nature of the issues raised and the "various regulatory requirements'' Aurora had brought in legal and communications advisers to help respond.
Cr David Benson-Pope said the maps aptly highlighted the extent of the problem and said the urgent priority should be tackling the health and safety risk.
"It reinforces the issue that there are some pretty serious questions that have to be answered.
"The public safety issue should be everyone's focus right now.
"I'm a bit sad that doesn't appear to have been Delta or Aurora's prime focus,'' he said.
It appeared Delta and Aurora paid big salaries to management "who don't appear to be able to do their job''.
Mr Healey pointed to numerous near misses, which included pole falling over on Castle St in 2014 next to the University of Otago, which narrowly missed striking the son of a Delta staff member.
"It's a miracle it didn't take someone out.''
Another recent incident involved a 6000 volt line coming down in Mosgiel, which a farmer placed a road cone on.
The reaction of Delta staff to that incident was ''how is he still alive''.
"Around the lunch table at work the conversation was always how somebody hadn't been killed''.
The network had deteriorated to the point a pole was falling down as regularly as every week or two.
"That's a lot.''
If Delta and Aurora did not tackle the issue quickly it was just "matter of time'' before someone was killed.
