Dunedin students have been left cold and grumpy after multiple power outages at their flats during “free power” periods. University of Otago fourth-year student Kane Curnow said there had been power outages at his flat in North Dunedin about five times in the past two weeks. They were without electricity for about an hour each time. The outages inconveniently came during the “free power” periods many students try to make the most of, he said. “We’re pretty clinical on it. “We try to stick to the free power [period].” In his flat, many appliances were on during the free 9pm to midnight period — the heater was “cranked to the max”, the washing machine was running and the dryer was on. When the power went out and all the appliances ground to a halt, the flatmates suffered. “It gets so cold at that time,” Mr Curnow said. “Even just 40 minutes of no heat is pretty detrimental. “It gets so cold … freezing cold.” Not being able to do the washing was a big issue. “It kind of stuffs you up for the next day.” It was the last thing he wanted to worry about after a long day. “Most of the things we do use power, obviously.” “You get home from a big day and then all of a sudden the power goes out and, it sounds kind of chronically online, but you actually can’t do much other than, I don’t know, read a book. “It’s just an annoying stress to have.” Recent graduate and North Dunedin resident Jess Chin Shong said one outage interrupted her hairdryer use while getting ready for a gig. She and her flatmates had experienced about five outages in the past two weeks during the free power period and said it was “really, really cold” without the heater on. “And then every time the power comes back on, we’re like, ‘we’re back, baby!’ It really feels like a victory.” Other students said they had experienced cold, pitch-black showers during the outages and their washing was left soaking in a washing machine filled with water for more than an hour. Some students thought they should be compensated by their power company. Aurora Energy general manager of customer and commercial services Mark Pratt said there had been very high electricity use between 9pm and midnight on weekdays in parts of North Dunedin, particularly around Harbour Tce, Dundas St, Forth St and St David St. Aurora Energy manages the lines that carry power around the area. “The combination of the recent cold winter weather and retailer free-power offers have caused sharp spikes in demand,” he said. Crews had done work last week to manage demand in the affected area and a brief outage was required at the weekend while work was done on a transformer. Mr Pratt asked households to be careful about overloading their fuses, which happened when a household used more electricity than its connection was designed to handle. If demand exceeded capacity, a fuse or circuit breaker could trip, cutting power to the property. “We completely understand why people are making the most of free power offers, especially when households are feeling the pressure of winter power bills. “If you have a free power deal, try to stagger usage, start it later, or cut back on some of the heavy appliance use during that time.” felicity.dear@odt.co.nz
