A raft of new policies have been introduced in the wake of a fatal car crash in which a man died in front of rescuers eyes as they waited for power lines to be switched off.

Kim Campbell has organised a meeting this afternoon to discuss strategies to soften up Aucklanders for the sale of the remaining shares in lines company Vector to pay for new roads.

Mighty River Power, the first of the state-owned power companies to be partially privatised last year, will quit its geothermal investments in Chile and Germany, while sticking with its interests in....

An electrical engineer tasked with cutting power to a crash site where a man lay trapped inside his car, surrounded by power lines, did not call an operations centre for help despite being unable to find a substation for about an hour.

Pulse Energy reported a net loss of $9.99 million, or 2.9 cents per share, in the six months ended September 30.

Geothermal has pipped gas generation for the first time as more plants come on stream.

Power companies' margins on retail electricity tariffs are unsustainably high, says a new report on listed NZ electricity stocks.

The unusual maneuver requires a level of cash and savvy that few mega-dealmakers could ever offer.

Power has now been restored to thousands of Auckland homes after an outage earlier this evening left them in the dark as stormy weather batters the city.

If I were running Mercury, I'd regard people like myself as perfect customers, writes Brian Rudman.

Call me a Luddite, but I don't want a "smart" electricity meter installed at home, and certainly not without my knowledge or consent.

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are part of a growing number of firms that are entering into power purchase agreements with wind farms.

A city-wide blackout left Dunedin streets in the dark for half an hour last night, as concerns are raised about the reliability of the city's street lighting.

I am the household manager - in part, because the other half isn't interested in assuming the role and in part because I like to know what's going on.

Power cuts are a part of life and Aucklanders should get used to it, says Vector chairman Michael Stiassny.

Power companies face a ban on so-called "save" calls, where they ring a customer departing for a rival and try to entice them back with a better offer.

Homeowners who install solar panels to cut their power bills are pushing up prices for everyone else, lines companies say.

Up to 80 per cent of Auckland electricity customers have signed contracts that allow their hot water to be cut off - but many were unaware until the blackouts.

Some Auckland residents were without hot water until late this morning following yet another fault with Vector’s electricity network.

An investigation into the substation fire which cut power to tens of thousands of Aucklanders will be jointly carried out by Transpower and Vector.

About 200 customers remain without power after extreme weather damaged power lines in the central and lower North Island yesterday.

When the lights go out over a large part of a city the size of Auckland, questions must be asked. How did this happen? Who allowed it to happen? Whose head must roll?

Vector and Transpower will audit vital equipment at power substations in a bid to identify other potentially vulnerable or problem areas within Auckland's beleaguered electricity network.

More than 1000 properties remain without power after fierce winds lashed the lower North Island and brought down electricity lines yesterday.

Energy Minister Simon Bridges says he is confident that lines company Vector acted appropriately in the wake of the power cuts in Auckland.

Vector has warned recently restored power users to expect to be 'dropped' from the system during peak times today, as a former chairman criticises the company.

Parnell hotels were full up with families and people suffering with health issues, said hotel staff in the area.