Abstract
As He Kāinga Oranga Housing and Health Research Programme at the University of Otago Wellington, we are urging the Electricity Authority to make the Consumer Care Guidelines for electricity retailers mandatory to protect health. A new report shows up to 55% of residential consumers are not protected by the Guidelines on disconnection. Critically, almost a quarter of Medically Dependent Consumers who rely on electricity at home for their medical needs are not being protected by the Guidelines.