energy company cuts off families power

[eggzs]

May 31, 2007

 

 

 

Anger over the death of an Auckland woman after her power was switched off is continuing to grow.

 

 

 

Folole Maliaga, who used an oxygen machine, died on Tuesday, hours after Mercury Energy disconnected her electricity for not paying her bill.

 

 

 

The prime minister has joined the chorus of condemnation and news of Mrs Muliaga's death has made headlines around the world.

 

 

 

Police say they have been continuing their enquiries into the death of Muliaga to determine the facts surrounding the case. They say they have received full co-operation from all those involved including the power company, their contractor and the Muliaga family.

 

 

 

They say they are also investigating Muliaga's pre-existing health conditions and have been in discussion with both the coroner's office and pathology staff.

 

 

 

But it was people power that was fired up on Thursday with a group of protesters hitting the streets of Auckland over what they see as Mercury Energy's policy of profit over people.

 

 

 

And a number are talking about switching over to other power suppliers.

 

 

 

"Like any company we're concerned about that," says Doug Heffernan of Mercury Energy. "We would just ask that people ultimately make judgement once all of the facts are known."

 

 

 

One Mercury customer in particular is angry over the Muliaga case. Four years ago the man's electricity was cut off even though he says he told Mercury his elderly mother needed power for her oxygen supply.

 

 

 

"I felt absolutely hopeless. I phoned Mercury. I really went off at them and said 'really you must get that power on straight away, my mother needs that oxygen machine.' But it really was like talking to a brick wall," he says.

 

 

 

He says he also told the company he was having financial problems, but could pay when his salary was due, which was the day the disconnection was scheduled. He paid that day but Mercury still pulled the plug.

 

 

 

Mercury says it has introduced new policies in the past two years. But the customer believes the Muliaga's case shows there's still an attitude problem.

 

 

 

"Things haven't changed obviously. And number two, they're just absolutely bloody minded about these sort of things," he says.

 

 

 

VirCom is the contractor who actually disconnected the power at the Muliaga's house.

 

 

 

On Thursday, ONE News made several attempts to speak to the company's CEO, Craig Shepherd.

 

 

 

The person who answered the office door said VirCom's CEO was in discussions with Mercury and their lawyer.

 

 

 

Mercury is keen to stress that the contractor's version of events is very different to the Muliaga family's, but says the experienced worker is devastated.

 

 

 

"These events are having an impact on the worker involved in the same way there's an impact on the family," says Heffernan.

 

 

 

ONE News understands the man has been offered counselling.

 

 

 

In a letter written by Mercury Energy to the State Owned Enterprises Minister, Mercury says the contractor who turned the power off was not told of her medical condition but before leaving the property her son asked the contractor to speak to Mrs Muliaga.

 

 

 

She asked him how long it would take to reconnect and was told that would happen when payment had been arranged. The contractor did notice a medical tube in her nose but says it was not connected to anything.

 

 

 

The circumstances of Folole Muliaga's death made news around the world. In Britain, it featured on the BBC's main evening news.

 

 

 

The story also flashed around some of the world's most prominent newspapers, proved of interest in Spain and played on CNN

 

here is where the article came from http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/423466/1161111

 

 

 

Mercury energy apologises

 

Four days after a contractor switched off power to an Auckland family's home the power company involved has issued a public apology.

 

 

 

Mighty River Power, which sells electricity through its retail business Mercury Energy, has admitted something clearly went wrong leading up to the death of Folole Muliaga on Tuesday and says it will do everything it can to avoid a repeat of the tragedy.

 

 

 

The mother of four, who used an oxygen machine, died just hours after Mercury Energy disconnected the electricity for an unpaid $168 bill.

 

 

 

"I'm here to say sorry to the family publicly and also to apologise to the wider community for our part in this tragedy," says Mighty River Power chairperson Carole Durbin

 

 

 

However, until a police investigation is complete the company will not say exactly what it believes its role was in the Muliaga's death.

 

 

 

On Friday, Durbin and her colleagues fronted up to the Muliaga family - a meeting the energy bosses found deeply distressing.

 

 

 

"When you're received with such a spirit of forgiveness it's really intensely emotional," she says.

 

 

 

The South Auckland community turned out in Otara on Saturday to pay their respects to the mother of four.

 

 

 

"Even though we don't know the family, we feel somewhat connected...It's just real sad," says Durbin.

 

 

 

Hundreds signed a book of condolences and a minute of silence was observed in Muliaga's memory.

 

 

 

Her body now rests at a Mangere funeral home.

 

 

 

Mercury Energy's $10,000 donation to the family will not be going towards funeral expenses - the family say they will pay for that with the help of public donations.

 

 

 

"That's why we gave it to them in cash to them do with it what they need to do," says Durbin.

 

 

 

Mighty River Power are currently reviewing policies throughout their entire business and have stopped carrying out disconnections in the meantime.

 

 

 

"I'm personally committed and determined that we will do everything we can to ensure that this can never happen in the future," says Durbin.

 

 

 

A number of other power companies are also taking action to make sure there is not a repeat of the incident. Trustpower, Genesis and Meridian Energy have all confirmed they have reminded customers who depend on electronic medical equipment to let them know so their details can be recorded.

 

 

 

Muliaga's father, brother, sister and five other family members arrive from Samoa on Sunday for her funeral which will take place on Monday.

 

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/1163147

 

was it the power companys fault or the families fault for not paying their bills?

[warri0r45]

Either power companies need a register of people who need continuous power for health conditions of the government gives them a back up generator (or they get it themselves, but bugger that, the government can do it :P ).

[rocketman089]

They couldn't call an ambulance, rush her to the hospital, buy a generator, or go nextdoor and hope their neighbors are good samaritans? Family messed up on this one.

[Ambassadar]

Folole Maliaga, who used an oxygen machine, died on Tuesday, hours after Mercury Energy disconnected her electricity for not paying her bill.

 

 

 

The article says she died HOURS after it was disconnected...

 

 

 

Was she home alone and completely crippled so she couldn't use her phone?

 

 

 

If she wasn't completely incapacitated and home alone and it did indeed take her hours to die after the power was turned off then either she wanted to die, she was completely stupid, or her family wanted her dead so they didn't give her the help she needed.

 

 

 

I need more facts before I can decide what I think about this situation. There are just too many unanswered questions to decide anything from the information in that article.

[Mercifull]

Power companies run a business, she would have received several letters and phone calls. The power company had no idea why continuous power was needed so I blame the family. Not to mention I have doubts that the power loss was the problem, its not like noone in the world has ever had an accidental powercut for one reason or another.

[ChickyBee32]

While the company definately takes some blame, I lay most of it with the family. Because electricity is a necessity in todays world, it takes a fair bit for it to be disconnected. At one stage I hadn't paid a bill in nearly 6 months, owed over 2k and kept promising to pay, but didn't. But then again, I wasn't dealing with that particular company.

 

 

 

From a personal point of view, I would have done EVERYTHING possible to make sure that a) there was power to the oxygen machine and B) if losing power was unavoidable, I would have had numerous back up plans ready.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I can also see it from a business point of view. You can't accept every sob story as fact. I worked for my state branch of car licensing and registration and omg, some of the stories I heard there were worthy of being on Days of Our Lives. (of course, on the other hand, I've feed some pretty impressive sob stories to companies as well... )

 

 

 

I'd like to know how much was owed and what steps the company had taken prior to recovering the money. From personal experience, I can say in australia at least, it takes a LOT to actually get a utility disconnected.

 

 

 

that reminds me, I need to contact the water company before they send men around to break my kneecaps

[specialcharacter]

I can symphathise with the family, however the power company are running this buisiness to make a profit and if you decide not to pay for it then you shouldnt be getting the elctricity. Besides there would have been plenty of warnings and such telling the family about them being overdue on payments.

[Tigra00]

Are you telling me that an oxygen machine doesn't have a back-up battery or something on it? We can send a man to the moon, but noone thought of a power outage MAYBE conflicting with someones need for oxygen? Well, okay then.

 

 

 

I'm sure the dude will sue, and I'm sure he will win. I'm sure the power company gave many warnings and they didn't pay. You can't barter with a company like that. "I'll pay you when I get it" to them is nothing more than "I'll believe it when I see it, until then...Off you go!"

 

 

 

There is a reason why gas companies can't turn off heat in the winter, but I can't imagine you can really know that someone needs electricity to live, so.

[Bubsa]

Why is a woman who needs an oxygen machine, can't afford to pay her bills and is unwell alone in the first place?

 

 

 

The company would have disconnected as the usual, how were they meant to know the conditions of the victim? Other people surely must have done.

[Lovelydude]

This is in no way the company's fault. The family were responsible for the care of the woman, not the electricity company. For the woman to have been unable to connect her oxygen machine to another source after several hours is just incredible negligence on the family's part.

 

 

 

I think the article mentioning "Mercury's policy of profit over people" is ridiculous. It's not the electricity company's job to provide the woman with electricity when they're not being paid to, and if we all listened to every phoney sob story we've heard, our wallets would weigh a little less.

 

 

 

This verges on defamation.

[indy500fan]

Wow, I didn't expect for everyone in this thread to pretty much hold the same stance as me. On the Fark forums people were calling for blood.

[Stilev]

i hate stuiped families like this, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

 

 

 

if she didn't pay her bill why the hell should they give her elecicity, i bet you anything that woman has terrible credit, and frequently in the past forgot to pay her bill, im all behind the company on this one

 

 

 

also why didn't they take the oxygen machine, and old lady over to there neighbors?

[Lovelydude]

i hate stuiped families like thism, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

 

 

 

I've been told that McDonalds was frequently asked to lower their coffee temperature because it was at a dangerous temperature, and that the woman recieved very serious burns.

 

 

 

Two very different situations.

[Stilev]

i hate stuiped families like this, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

I've been told that McDonalds was frequently asked to lower their coffee temperature because it was at a dangerous temperature, and that the woman recieved very serious burns.

 

 

 

Two very different situations.

well when you get 'hot coffee' you should be execpting it to be 'hot' and was relating this to the fact you should expect to not get power if you dont pay your bill

[ChickyBee32]

i hate stuiped families like this, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

I've been told that McDonalds was frequently asked to lower their coffee temperature because it was at a dangerous temperature, and that the woman recieved very serious burns.

 

 

 

Two very different situations.

well when you get 'hot coffee' you should be execpting it to be 'hot' and was relating this to the fact you should expect to not get power if you dont pay your bill

 

 

 

There's a difference getting hot coffee and a coffee that gives you third degree burns. The McDonalds Coffee was at a dangerous temperature and they had been told to lower it repeatedly.

 

 

 

Now, the people who tried to sue McDonalds for getting fat.....

[eggzs]

i hate stuiped families like this, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

I've been told that McDonalds was frequently asked to lower their coffee temperature because it was at a dangerous temperature, and that the woman recieved very serious burns.

 

 

 

Two very different situations.

well when you get 'hot coffee' you should be execpting it to be 'hot' and was relating this to the fact you should expect to not get power if you dont pay your bill

 

 

 

There's a difference getting hot coffee and a coffee that gives you third degree burns. The McDonalds Coffee was at a dangerous temperature and they had been told to lower it repeatedly.

 

thats like sueing for happy meals not making you happy

 

 

 

Now, the people who tried to sue McDonalds for getting fat.....

[ChickyBee32]

i hate stuiped families like this, reminds me of that 'hot coffee vs McDonalds' sueing, just stuiped people that think they run the world.

I've been told that McDonalds was frequently asked to lower their coffee temperature because it was at a dangerous temperature, and that the woman recieved very serious burns.

 

 

 

Two very different situations.

well when you get 'hot coffee' you should be execpting it to be 'hot' and was relating this to the fact you should expect to not get power if you dont pay your bill

 

 

 

There's a difference getting hot coffee and a coffee that gives you third degree burns. The McDonalds Coffee was at a dangerous temperature and they had been told to lower it repeatedly.

 

thats like sueing for happy meals not making you happy

 

 

 

Now, the people who tried to sue McDonalds for getting fat.....

 

 

 

 

 

Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but do you actually expect to get burns requiring skin grafts from any hot drink? Because the fact that you've completely ignored the point behind my comment by replying with an irrelevant comment.

 

 

 

I reccomend looking here It explains things in terms you don't need a degree in fancy speak to understand and may give you a clue on why the woman actually won the case.

[Led-Zeppelin]

Ok, I've been watching this on the news. The lady who died, was very close to death in the first place. She was without her oxygen machine for only three hours, she couldn't of been in very good shape in the first place. And in the first instance, if she was actually LIFE DEPENDANT like some of you may argue, perhaps the family should have rung the ambulance as soon as the power went out? :idea:

 

 

 

Wouldn't those machines usually have a power back up of some kind? As we do have quite a few power cuts in Auckland.

 

 

 

And hey, where do you draw the line? I'm going to ring up my power company and tell them I have a special heart condition that requires me to be plugged up to a machine 24/7, so forgive me if I never pay a single powerbill again, and if you shut me off, your all heartless bastards!

[eggzs]

Ok, I've been watching this on the news. The lady who died, was very close to death in the first place. She was without her oxygen machine for only three hours, she couldn't of been in very good shape in the first place. And in the first instance, if she was actually LIFE DEPENDANT like some of you may argue, perhaps the family should have rung the ambulance as soon as the power went out? :idea:

 

 

 

Wouldn't those machines usually have a power back up of some kind? As we do have quite a few power cuts in Auckland.

 

 

 

And hey, where do you draw the line? I'm going to ring up my power company and tell them I have a special heart condition that requires me to be plugged up to a machine 24/7, so forgive me if I never pay a single powerbill again, and if you shut me off, your all heartless [bleep]!

 

 

 

yeah, she was terminally ill and i think she wanted peace, but there is a list where you can register if you need to connect your medical device but she wasn't on that list.

 

 

 

btw, what part of auckland are you from?

[IGoddessI]

:shock:I feel sorry for both parties.

[Led-Zeppelin]

Ok, I've been watching this on the news. The lady who died, was very close to death in the first place. She was without her oxygen machine for only three hours, she couldn't of been in very good shape in the first place. And in the first instance, if she was actually LIFE DEPENDANT like some of you may argue, perhaps the family should have rung the ambulance as soon as the power went out? :idea:

 

 

 

Wouldn't those machines usually have a power back up of some kind? As we do have quite a few power cuts in Auckland.

 

 

 

And hey, where do you draw the line? I'm going to ring up my power company and tell them I have a special heart condition that requires me to be plugged up to a machine 24/7, so forgive me if I never pay a single powerbill again, and if you shut me off, your all heartless [bleep]!

 

 

 

yeah, she was terminally ill and i think she wanted peace, but there is a list where you can register if you need to connect your medical device but she wasn't on that list.

 

 

 

btw, what part of auckland are you from?

 

 

 

I live over on the Shore bro.

[Militaris]

Just a few more details which I have heard from the news.

 

 

 

She was not home alone, she was there with her 2 sons. They were around 18-20 years old. When the power went off, she told her son not to ring the ambulance or their father but go and play her a song on their guitar.

 

 

 

I have also heard that she did not require the oxygen machine to survive. If that was the case she would of been supplied with a Oxygen Tank, and their should of been a battery back up but that might not have been supplied.

 

 

 

From the news it seems like they got into financial trouble because they once had 2 incomes, but once she got sick she could not work. Plus the Oxygen machine uses around $80 a month to run. She did make a couple of payments to the bill but there was a amount still owed.

 

 

 

In all it is a very complicated case, and there are a number of people which can be blamed.

[rocketman089]

That makes no sense at all to me :|

[eggzs]

Ok, I've been watching this on the news. The lady who died, was very close to death in the first place. She was without her oxygen machine for only three hours, she couldn't of been in very good shape in the first place. And in the first instance, if she was actually LIFE DEPENDANT like some of you may argue, perhaps the family should have rung the ambulance as soon as the power went out? :idea:

 

 

 

Wouldn't those machines usually have a power back up of some kind? As we do have quite a few power cuts in Auckland.

 

 

 

And hey, where do you draw the line? I'm going to ring up my power company and tell them I have a special heart condition that requires me to be plugged up to a machine 24/7, so forgive me if I never pay a single powerbill again, and if you shut me off, your all heartless [bleep]!

 

 

 

yeah, she was terminally ill and i think she wanted peace, but there is a list where you can register if you need to connect your medical device but she wasn't on that list.

 

 

 

btw, what part of auckland are you from?

 

 

 

I live over on the Shore bro.

 

cool, i live in the cbd area :

[FruDaDaLoom]

How can the family be mad, they should have had some type of back up plan, what if there was a storm on power was knocked out? They can't be mad at the power company because they didn't want to drive grandma to the hospital.