'Bad timing': Maintenance work to leave locked-down residents without internet

Some Mt Eden residents are preparing for a day without power. Photo / iStock

Frustrated Mt Eden residents are questioning why Vector is going ahead with maintenance that will leave them without power while they try to work and teach their children from home during lockdown.

Nearly 100 homes will be affected by tomorrow's power cut, which will involve maintenance work on a power pole between 9 and 5pm.

Grange Rd resident Fiona, who didn't want her surname used, said her two children can't attend their online schooling tomorrow because of the outage.

"Under normal circumstances children would be at school and adults would be at work or able to go somewhere else for the day. This is not normal, we are not allowed to go somewhere else," she said.

She said the work was originally scheduled for January 21 but was postponed.

"I don't think it's acceptable under the current level three environment. It's not like a truck has run into a power pole and there's an emergency. Fine if we have no power under an emergency, but it's not an emergency."

She's worried people may leave their Covid bubbles to continue their schooling and work elsewhere.

"What are we supposed to do?"

A Vector spokesman said the company is working hard to balance customers' needs, particularly during lockdown, with the safety and reliability of its network.

"We have already postponed a significant amount of planned maintenance over four of the lockdown periods in 12 months, but these works cannot be put off indefinitely or we risk greater impact for customers from unplanned outages," he said.

He said a number of jobs have also been delayed this week.

"It is critical that we continue to carry out essential maintenance in other areas, otherwise public safety and reliability of supply may become an issue."

Another Grange Rd resident said her kids would connect their computers to her phone's data "hotspot" to attend online classes tomorrow.

"It's just really bad timing," she said.

"If it was just for an hour or two, it would not be so bad. It's just really that length of time and during lockdown, it's inconvenient."

In an email sent by Vector to an affected resident and forwarded to Herald, the company said it needed to do the work "to ensure the reliability and safety of the power supply, especially during poor weather conditions".

The email listed a number of factors Vector considered when scheduling work, including requirements for noise control and resource availability.

"We acknowledge that power outages have an impact on people working or learning from home, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding."

A psychologist who lives in the area said she provided online services during level three and is not sure what to do without internet access.

"I have no choice but to do telehealth and that needs the internet. I can't work in my office because we're not allowed [under level 3]."

She also has two children learning from home.

"[My daughter] will need to make up that school work [she misses] and they pile it on in high school, so she's quite stressed. My son is in the end of primary so he's less anxious."

The Vector spokesman said the company will continue to review outages and "do everything it can to minimise the impact they have on Aucklanders".