Residents of a small Central Otago settlement are desperate for help after being plagued by power outages.
The locals at Pisa Moorings, just five minutes out of Cromwell, contacted Fair Go after suffering through 35 outages since 2020, including 12 unplanned faults this year.
They claim the repeated outages have damaged their electronics and cut their internet.
"Every time we have a power cut they keep sh**ting themselves," local baker Carin Culling told Fair Go as she piled up her failed modems.
"We did have a surge protector on our modem and it still fried."
The residents report the problem is only with Spark modems. Spark says it is investigating the problem but confirms power surges are not covered under its warranty.
Annette Norgrove, who runs the community's Facebook page, says the last power cut in early October was the worst.
"That was the big one. Upwards of 40 modems probably fried."
Fair Go has also been told of whiteware and televisions failing after the power cuts.
Lyn Price relies on electricity to keep pumping oxygen to her as she sleeps. She has motor neuron disease.
"I lose a lot of oxygen when I sleep so my oxygen levels go dangerously low."
She's asked for a backup supply from her DHB because of her concerns about the power supply.
"Later on it will be a matter of life or death."
Aurora Energy, which is in charge of the power supply, say it's spending half a billion dollars on the network over the next five years. That includes two days of work at Pisa Moorings later this month putting in 19 new power poles.
The company told Fair Go it is also going to install a voltage logger which will help it figure out what's causing the power cuts. Aurora is also keen to meet with locals to hear their concerns.
The cause of the power cuts is often failed equipment, according to figures provided to Fair Go by Aurora Energy.
The electricity supplier has been besieged by problems after conceding that for years it failed to invest in its network.
In 2020, Auroa was fined $5 million in the High Court for breaching network quality standards through excessive power outages.
Earlier this month, Aurora was warned again by the Commerce Commission.
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