Freezing Families Told To Toughen Up

You've got to hand it to Genesis, they've got a way with words.

50 customers of the power company ran out of power at the weekend when a computer glitch prevented them topping up their pre-pay accounts.

Tania Tai-Albert lost her power at 8am on Sunday after being unable to top her credit and wasn't able to keep her three children, who have all got asthma, warm.

She rang Genesis to make a complaint, only to be told "get tough, you'll have to go without".

See the full story here Freezing family told: "Get tough"

The cut-offs happened during some of the coldest weather in New Zealand for decades, see Exploding the myth about tropical NZ and just days after it was announced that the NZ power generating industry was to be allowed to get away with gouging $4.3 billion from families like Tania's, see double standards.

In May 2007 Folole Muliaga, aged 44, died when Mercury Energy cut off her power because of unpaid bills. Mrs Muliaga was dependent on an electrically powered oxygen supply.

At the time Helen Clark called the company's actions "heartless and intolerable." I wonder what John Key thinks.