Source: Radio New Zealand
Damage from the storm to electricity networks was extensive. Wellington City Council
Questions are mounting over whether Wellington Electricity should compensate households hit by damaging storms, as residents count the cost of week-long power outages.
The company had hoped to restore power to all affected properties that did not need complex or private repairs on Monday night. It said remaining homes were expected to be reconnected over the next few days.
Island Bay solo mum Nicola Hill lost power early last Tuesday morning after the storm battered her home, blowing out French doors.
Island Bay solo mum Nicola Hill assumed power would be restored within hours. Instead she and her children spent six nights without electricity. Penny Smith/RNZ
At first, she assumed it would be restored in a matter of hours. Instead, she and her two teenagers spent six nights without electricity.
Hill said that, with no functioning fridge, fresh food quickly spoiled.
“I’ve lost a fridge and most of a freezer full of food. So, I definitely think I probably lost about $200 in food, taking into account the extra stuff that I’ve bought, like UHT milk, just to have a little bit of milk in the morning.”
Hill estimated that she had lost about $200 worth of groceries due to the power outage. Penny Smith/RNZ
Dinners were cooked on the barbecue, when the weather allowed.
Showers were cold at home, or taken at friends’ houses, grandparents’ homes in the Hutt Valley, or at the local pool and washing was ferried between houses.
As a working parent, Hill said the outage also affected her job. She stayed home for three days expecting crews to arrive, only for no one to show.
“I’d try to work from home without a device, then use the iPad for an hour or two until the battery wound down, then go somewhere to charge it and come back,” she said.
“It really impacted my productivity.”
She described the communication from Wellington Electricity and her retailer as “not fit for purpose”.
“There were promises – four to six hours, 18 hours, everything by Friday – and by Monday I was looking at any promise with complete scepticism,” she said.
“There was over-promising and under-delivering.”
Calls for Compensation
On Friday, when about 700 homes still had no power, Wellington Electricity said it would donate $10 to KidsCan Charitable Trust for every customer who wouldn’t be reconnected that day.
Hill questioned whether a donation to charity went far enough.
“When you’re getting to one week without power? I’d be ropeable if there’s a fixed charge cost,” she said.
Just a few streets away, 71-year-old retiree Jim Waters faced a different challenge.
Waters had just been discharged from hospital after a fall – which left him with a fractured wrist in a cast – when the power to his home failed on Monday night.
Retiree Jim Waters spent about $800 on staying at a motel, after damaging winds knocked out power to his home. He hoped to claim back the cost from his insurance company. Penny Smith/RNZ
By morning, he discovered the gas supply had also shut off.
“It was a nightmare,” he said.
“My cellphone was running out of battery, I had no way of recharging it, I couldn’t use internet, and they’d say, ‘follow up your query online’ – but I had no power.”
Neighbours stepped in, offering Wi-Fi access, phone charging and meals.
But by Thursday, with no clear timeline for reconnection, Waters contacted his insurer and learned that emergency accommodation might be covered.
He moved into a motel, initially for one night.
He stayed four, costing about $800, which he hopes to claim back.
“I’m on superannuation, but I’m lucky I have some savings,” he said.
Waters said he felt his isolated outage may have been deprioritised in favour of larger jobs affecting whole streets.
“You got the impression they were doing the ones that were bigger,” he said. “If they’d come and looked at mine, they could have done it rather quicker.”
Like Hill, he questioned Wellington Electricity’s pledge to donate to charity rather than compensate affected customers directly.
“It sounds wonderful, but it doesn’t help the people affected much, does it?” he said.
Both residents said the experience had shaken their confidence in the capital’s infrastructure.
“We need to have power infrastructure that survives wind,” Hill said.
“It makes me worry about what would happen in an earthquake.”
By late Monday afternoon, crews had restored power to both homes.
Wellington Electricity said it was not funded to offer compensation.
“While our tight regulation by the Commerce Commission means we’re not funded to act as an insurer or cover consequential losses, if we find our actions while restoring a customer’s power caused damage to their property, we can consider a goodwill payment. We recommend customers questions about loss of supply to their electricity retailer, and any consequential loss or damage claims to their insurers.”
The company said it understood how frustrating it was to be without power for multiple days and it was sorry work to restore power across Wellington was taking longer than expected.
“The strength of the winds and the scale of the storm damage meant the situation evolved as crews progressed. In many cases, once trees were cleared and sites made safe to work at, our crews discovered more extensive damage than was initially visible,” it said.
“As with any major event, we’ll review our response and ensure improvements are continuously applied to future event responses.”
Hundreds of Powerco Customers Still Without Power
Meanwhile, Powerco said that about 200 customers across the Whanganui, Manawatū and Wairarapa regions were without electricity on Monday night, although some outages may not be storm-related.
Crews were working through complex high-voltage faults, particularly in remote forestry areas, with the Whanganui-Rangitīkei region the hardest hit. the company said.
“Access has been a challenge, with trees down across the affected regions, and outages have been widespread and in remote locations.”
At the height of the storm, more than 25,000 properties in Whanganui-Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Tararua and Wairarapa were left without power.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand