A 28-year-old man from North Otago may have been killed when a power outage shut down his breathing equipment.
Wayne Haamia of Palmerston was on a respirator and is believed to have died during a power cut on Thursday morning.
The chief executive of the lines company Power Net, Martin Walton, says it is not yet clear what caused the power cut, but it may have been due to debris on a transformer.
Police have referred the death to the Coroner.
Mr Walton says the company did not have any records showing anyone affected by the power cut had special medical needs.
And he says in this case, the cut was unplanned, so the man could not have been warned about it.
