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A transformer in Heriot Row, outside Carrington Hall, that was deemed responsible for the power outages. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON An advocacy group for electricity users has told Aurora Energy to "do better" amid a spate of recent power outages in central Dunedin.

Network provider Aurora Energy told the Otago Daily Times earlier this week the power outages on Pitt St and Heriot Row were due to a series of transformer overloads, but that was no longer the case.

Residents in the area had been experiencing late night outages for two to three weeks of between a couple minutes and three hours.

The company had originally equated the overloads to the use of "free power" deals offered by companies such as Electric Kiwi and Contact Energy.

Consumer Advocacy Council chairwoman Deborah Hart, said the council had issued a "please explain" to the company as the latest series of outages was disappointing.

She said consumers should be able to take advantage of free power offers and have the electricity supplied.

"They shouldn’t be blamed when the power goes off," Ms Hart said.

She called the power outages both inconvenient and a health risk, and that no-one should be sitting in an unheated home in mid-winter.

It was Aurora’s job to both manage the network, know the load on transformers and supply electricity, she said.

"Given the number of times there have been outages across its network, Aurora needs to do better and should have a mitigation plan."

The Consumer Advocacy Council — which acts as an independent service supporting the rights of electricity customers — would ask Aurora Energy how it intended to ensure customers needs and expectations were met.

Aurora Energy general manager operations and network performance Matt Settle said Aurora was now aware the outages might have been because of the deterioration of a low voltage fuse panel on the transformer.

"We do not believe that we experienced an overloading of the network," he said.

Aurora did not provide how many customers were affected by the outages.

"We know any power outage is inconvenient and we apologise to all customers who were impacted by the recent outages," Mr Settle said.

Repairs had been made to the transformer, which had earlier shown no issues, and Aurora were no longer expecting further outages, he said.

The network provider will continue to monitor the situation.

Aurora Energy was investing $563 million to upgrade the electricity network in Otago to catch up with past under-investment, he said.

cas.saunders@odt.co.nz

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