MissJacksonCA
30-May-2007, 05:17 PM
Woman on Oxygen Dies After Power Cut
Company Allegedly Kills Electricity Because of Unpaid Bill
Reuters
WELLINGTON (May 30) - A 44-year-old woman who needed an electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut the power to her home because of a $122 unpaid bill, her family claimed Wednesday.
Police said they had launched an investigation into Folole Muliaga's death, which happened within two hours of state-owned company Mercury Energy cutting power to her house Tuesday.
Mercury Energy's general manager, James Moulder, said the company was devastated by the woman's death and was conducting its own investigation to determine what happened. Muliaga, a schoolteacher with four children between the ages of 5 and 20, had been off work since February with an illness.
A Mercury Energy representative arrived on Tuesday at her home in the northern city of Auckland to disconnect the electricity, said Brenden Sheehan, Muliaga's nephew-in-law.
Sheehan said both Muliaga and her son told the technician she was dependent on the oxygen machine to stay alive and invited him into the house to see it. "Then he cut the power off," Sheehan told The Associated Press.
Muliaga began having difficulty breathing, became faint and then collapsed, he said. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead within two hours of the power being cut.
Moulder expressed his "deep condolences" to the family, and said the company was checking reports that it had been warned Muliaga needed power for the oxygen machine. The company restored electricity to the house on Wednesday after learning of her death.
Sheehan said the family's bills would prove Muliaga was trying to pay the account, and received no warning the power would be shut off.
State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard said there were reports the family had been warned about the overdue account.
"The correct authority to investigate this and sort out the facts is the police," Mallard said, adding the government would expect "full accountability" if the company was found to be culpable.
Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-05-30 03:03:16
I think the guy who cut off the power should've listened to the kids who told him their mum was on the oxygen tank and then radioed his employer to discuss whether he should cut off the power which would in effect kill her. My concern is however that the woman herself didn't apparently try to speak to the electric technician.
On a personal note I had no idea my last electric bill went unpaid because the power company never got my money order and I was infuriated to find that it was lost and the power company waited a month to tell me it was late and that they were going to keep my deposit. To add fuel to the fire the post office said if the mail was lost and it was a money order that it would be auctioned off to some jackass who buys mail from the PO every so often. D'ya believe that? They sell mail! WTF? Then I had to go to the power company proove to them I bought the money order and that it was lost and eventually they said sucks to be you. In the end it did suck to be me I had to pay 12 dollars to get the money order refunded. Like why couldn't they just give it to me?
So I can see how for at least a little while she had no idea her electric would be cut off because my notice of cutoff came 4 days before they'd turn it off... what if that got lost in the mail? I'm actually suprised they'd turn it off after one missed bill and even more amazed they didn't even damn well call me. Its like they wanted me to pay another deposit on my bill and the reconnect fee.
Company Allegedly Kills Electricity Because of Unpaid Bill
Reuters
WELLINGTON (May 30) - A 44-year-old woman who needed an electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut the power to her home because of a $122 unpaid bill, her family claimed Wednesday.
Police said they had launched an investigation into Folole Muliaga's death, which happened within two hours of state-owned company Mercury Energy cutting power to her house Tuesday.
Mercury Energy's general manager, James Moulder, said the company was devastated by the woman's death and was conducting its own investigation to determine what happened. Muliaga, a schoolteacher with four children between the ages of 5 and 20, had been off work since February with an illness.
A Mercury Energy representative arrived on Tuesday at her home in the northern city of Auckland to disconnect the electricity, said Brenden Sheehan, Muliaga's nephew-in-law.
Sheehan said both Muliaga and her son told the technician she was dependent on the oxygen machine to stay alive and invited him into the house to see it. "Then he cut the power off," Sheehan told The Associated Press.
Muliaga began having difficulty breathing, became faint and then collapsed, he said. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead within two hours of the power being cut.
Moulder expressed his "deep condolences" to the family, and said the company was checking reports that it had been warned Muliaga needed power for the oxygen machine. The company restored electricity to the house on Wednesday after learning of her death.
Sheehan said the family's bills would prove Muliaga was trying to pay the account, and received no warning the power would be shut off.
State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard said there were reports the family had been warned about the overdue account.
"The correct authority to investigate this and sort out the facts is the police," Mallard said, adding the government would expect "full accountability" if the company was found to be culpable.
Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-05-30 03:03:16
I think the guy who cut off the power should've listened to the kids who told him their mum was on the oxygen tank and then radioed his employer to discuss whether he should cut off the power which would in effect kill her. My concern is however that the woman herself didn't apparently try to speak to the electric technician.
On a personal note I had no idea my last electric bill went unpaid because the power company never got my money order and I was infuriated to find that it was lost and the power company waited a month to tell me it was late and that they were going to keep my deposit. To add fuel to the fire the post office said if the mail was lost and it was a money order that it would be auctioned off to some jackass who buys mail from the PO every so often. D'ya believe that? They sell mail! WTF? Then I had to go to the power company proove to them I bought the money order and that it was lost and eventually they said sucks to be you. In the end it did suck to be me I had to pay 12 dollars to get the money order refunded. Like why couldn't they just give it to me?
So I can see how for at least a little while she had no idea her electric would be cut off because my notice of cutoff came 4 days before they'd turn it off... what if that got lost in the mail? I'm actually suprised they'd turn it off after one missed bill and even more amazed they didn't even damn well call me. Its like they wanted me to pay another deposit on my bill and the reconnect fee.