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Wellwishers have passed in a steady procession through the Muliaga family home in Mangere to pay their respects to the mother of four who died after the power to the house was disconnected over an outstanding bill.
Extended family are still struggling to come to terms with the
death of the seriously ill Folole Muliaga, who was using an oxygen machine.
A Mercury Energy contractor disconnected the Muliaga home because of the non-payment of a bill amounting to $168.40 and 2 1/2 hours later the 44-year-old was dead.
As of yesterday afternoon neither the power company nor its contractor, VirCom EMS, had visited the family.
"At the moment, the family's not well disposed towards Mercury Energy so it's probably a good thing in some respects," family spokesman Brenden Sheehan said yesterday.
"But I would have expected it [a visit] as a common courtesy and decency."
Police were yesterday still piecing together the facts surrounding the case, complicated by the two different version of events from the company/contractor and from the family.
Mercury Energy was adamant it had followed the correct procedures, including serving the family a telegram via courier stating that they had 48 hours to make a payment.
Mr Sheehan said neither he nor anyone in the family recalled seeing any notice of disconnection and police had taken away all related documentation.
"I don't know whether it was sent but, whether it was or not, this is a preventable tragedy. It shouldn't have happened. Their representative was at the door; he knew the situation and proceeded nevertheless."
Police were also investigating Mrs Muliaga's pre-existing health conditions, which have been confirmed to be cardiomyopathy.
The condition is a weakening of the heart muscle, which may be caused by various factors, including heart disease, obesity or viral infection.
Mrs Muliaga was in hospital with the condition for about a month and discharged just three weeks ago.
Post-mortem examination results have not yet been released.
Mrs Muliaga's death has sparked calls for a wider inquiry into the cost of electricity and security of supply.
Green MP Sue Bradford has suggested making it illegal to cut off essential services. "Power and water are essential for life and health."
Under the Government's 2004 policy statement on electricity, the Electricity Commission was told to "develop arrangements and recommend regulations if necessary" to ensure that consumers who might have difficulty paying their bills on time have access to electricity.
State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard said this led to a set of guidelines in 2006 between the Ministry of Social Development and the commission.
However, the guidelines are only advisory and come with the proviso that they should "not cause unreasonable credit risk for electricity retailers".
They recommend retailers offer pre-pay meters, payment options such as re-directing income to pay off power bills or making smaller, more frequent payments, and the use of bonds of less than $150, which can be used when needed.
They also suggest power companies advise of assistance from government and social agencies and make "amicable arrangements to recover the debt within a reasonable time frame that does not create an adverse credit situation for the retailer or hardship for the consumer".
However, Ms Bradford said such measures should be mandatory, rather than advisory, and she wants an inquiry into the issue.
"The family were trying to pay their power bill. It just shows zero social responsibility from Mercury."
United Future leader Peter Dunne said the Mercury Energy case was just "the tip of the iceberg" for poor people who faced constant increases in power and fuel prices.
