Power outage: Medically dependant customers should contact power supplier, 111 or hospitals for help, say Vector

Storm damage in Auckland on April 11. Photo / File

An Auckland man who relies on a machine to breathe for him during the night was distressed after allegedly being told to fend for himself when he called Vector to ask for a generator.

Krishnendu Haldar, 62, is not the only person who has alleged a lack of response from Vector to people who rely on electricity for health or medical reasons, but Vector is telling those people to contact their power provider, 111 or a hospital.

Haldar wrote to Vector after he was forced to stay awake throughout the night after Tuesday night's storm cut power to his Lynfield home, taking out his CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine which helps him breathe.

Haldar has sleep apnoea and has been using the machine for three years to keep himself breathing while sleeping.

In a previous planned power cut he said Vector provided he and his wife with a generator so he could continue to use the machine.

But when he phoned Vector's emergency line on Thursday evening he was told he would have to fend for himself, before the call disconnected.

"He just said, 'we can't do anything about it, you have to look after yourself today'. That sounded so pathetic."

He is yet to receive a reply from Vector about his complaint and Vector said it was unable to confirm it had received it.

Haldar told the Herald he was mostly distressed at the lack of compassion from the call centre operator, and worried about others who relied on electricity-powered machines for medical conditions.

In a statement, a Vector spokesman told the Herald the company could not prioritse individuals at this point because they first had to "restore the backbone of the network" but apologised for the poor customer service.

"In regard to Mr Haldar's experience calling to inquire about his situation, it would appear to have been well below the standard we expect and we apologise for any distress caused," he said.

In 2016 a Taupo woman died after power was cut to her home, which switched off the oxygen concentration machine she relied on.

And in 2007 Folole Muliaga died hours after a contractor cut power to her south Auckland home after her family fell behind paying their bills.

Haldar said his condition was not as severe as others, but was upset at the reaction from Vector.

"For a person in my situation and my condition, I could afford to ride over the problem Vector has passed on to me. But I would hate to be in a situation in the future in a much more critical position," he said.

"They may not have had a solution but they could have dealt with it in a much more humane way, and a more sensitive way. No company should be hanging up on customers."

Tuesday night's storm plunged more than 100,000 customers into darkness after electricity was knocked out thanks to 140km/h winds.

Four days on, 9000 customers remained without power on Saturday morning, whittled down to 5000 by the afternoon.

Haldar's power was restored at 7.30am on Thursday, the morning after his call to Vector, by which time he had stayed awake all night out of fear of what would happen without the machine.

He went to work again the next day.

"I fully understand the gravity and the magnitude of the (widespread power cuts) so I'm just expecting from anybody in that kind of position to be lending their ears, and to understand."

Further north, in Kaukapakapa, Suzanne Bedford told the Herald she'd received a similar response from Vector and was paying about $150 a day for a generator after Vector call centre staff told her to drive him to a hospital instead.

She also claimed call centre operators hung up on her.

And in Bayswater Greg McQuillan said he contacted Vector because his wheelchair was powered by electricity, but said the call taker was "very very abrupt" and told him to wait, or make other accommodation arrangements.

Auckland Civil Defence Emergency Management director John Dragicevich said he would be "appalled" if people medically reliant on electricity were being told to fend for themselves, but said people in those situations could "bypass" Vector and ring them directly on 0800 22 22 00.

They were working with district health boards to get generators to the most vulnerable homes.

The Vector spokesman said anybody who was medically reliant on electricity should contact their power provider first.

"Vector prioritises medically dependent customers where we are aware of their situation, and it's possible to do so," he said.

"Since Wednesday morning we have been working to restore the backbone of the network which is necessary before any individual houses can be restored.

"In short, this means we couldn't prioritise one person's house even if we wished to, as without the major network infrastructure restored to full power, we couldn't get electricity to them."