National grid operator Transpower issued an alert to power companies just before 8am on Thursday, warning of a risk of insufficient generation and reserves to meet demand. Consumer New Zealand's Paul Fuge said complacency about power outages is the downside of having a generally reliable system. "People kind of get used to their power being reliable and we're not prepared as we probably should be for situation... situations will arise despite best endeavours, you know there will always be a time when things don't go according to plan or the weather doesn't play ball or we get an emergency." Consumers should be aware ... (full story)