KEY POINTS:
Power companies need to give higher priority to restoring power to farms during storms so that animals do not suffer, according to Hauraki District Council Mayor John Tregidga.
His view was backed by Otorohanga Mayor Dale Williams at a meeting yesterday of the Waikato Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Group in Hamilton.
Mr Tregidga told the meeting, which was discussing the storm which has ravaged Waikato during the past week, that some farmers had not been able to milk their cows for up to three days because various power companies had not been able to restore electricity to rural areas quickly.
This led to significant stress on cows. "It really is an issue," he said.
Power companies had generally done a good job restoring power but needed to give higher priority to the rural community's needs.
Mr Tregidga said while farmers could install back-up generators, smaller farms could find this expensive.
Mr Williams said the power companies needed to be on notice "that, at these times when they're most needed, they need to respond".
But Thames Coromandel District Council deputy mayor Adrian Catran also felt farmers could do more to ensure they had back-up generators so that cows did not suffer when normal electricity supplies were disrupted.
Farms were often big operations and "the cost of a generator should be built into their business", he said.
- NZPA
