KEY POINTS:
The family of the woman who died after Mercury Energy cut her power off were told her death was "irrelevant" when they tried to reconnect, tapes of phone conversations suggest.
Folole Muliaga died on May 29 after a Mercury Energy contractor cut power at her Mangere home due to an overdue bill, turning off the mains-powered oxygen machine which helped her breathe.
Her family were forced to spend a cold night at their Mangere home, but a phone conversation between a victim support worker and Mercury aired on TV One's Sunday programme last night showed the family was told no reconnection would be made until further payments were made.
"She may have passed away in the last couple of days but ... I know it's been hard but it's irrelevant," a Mercury supervisor told the victim support worker.
"They've got arrears disco (disconnection) notices, they've had disco notices. The family obviously are living at the property with this person, they need to take responsibility for themselves and for the property."
The tapes also confirm the family's statement last week that Mrs Muliaga's husband Lopaavea tried to arrange to make payments but was told his wife, who was then in hospital, had to ring them as she held the account.
"We'll need to speak to your wife about this account because you're not listed as permission on the account," the Mercury Energy operator told Mr Muliaga.
When Mr Muliaga said, "My wife is in hospital now. That's why I want to ring you, can I pay my bill $50 a week?" the response was: "We don't make arrangements on overdue account and I'm sorry but we're not able to discuss the specific details of the account unless your wife calls and gives you permission."
Olinda Woodroffe, the Muliaga family's lawyer, said this showed Mercury Energy had clearly been told Mrs Muliaga was ill.
"The tapes reveal quite categorically that at least on the first of May, the person who answered the telephone call from Mercury Energy was told three times by Mr Muliaga that his wife was in hospital."
Mercury Energy said it has changed its policies and it can now reconnect power 24 hours a day.
"The company's new procedures announced last week have made it easier for customers or other parties to make part-payments on overdue accounts, and contact centre staff were now instructed to seek more detail about medical or hardship situations when customers rang, regardless of whether they were the account holder," Mercury told Radio New Zealand.
"Mercury has also put in place new procedures for dealing with after-hours calls regarding reconnections which would ensure that in any bereavement situation Mercury Energy would arrange immediate reconnection."
The new guidelines
The electricity sector could face regulations if a new set of guidelines is ignored.
The Electricity Commission has released the guidelines for power companies dealing with potentially vulnerable clients.
The guidelines require companies to regularly inform customers on their payment options, provide customers with an opportunity to identify themselves as vulnerable, consult the Ministry of Social Development if vulnerable customers are unable to pay and visit a customer's home before they disconnect the power.
Power companies are required to report to the commission on their rate of compliance with the guidelines.
The commission has said that if the guidelines are not followed, the commission will look at recommending regulations be put in place.
The rate of compliance will be published on the commission's site.
- NZPA
