Central Otago Mayor Malcolm Macpherson, who organised the rally on August 20, which attracted about 300 people, has been criticised by TrustPower community relations manager Graeme Purches for using emotive and incomplete information at the meeting.
Mr Purches, the only electricity retail company representative to attend the meeting, was booed and verbally abused by the crowd.
Yesterday, he told the Otago Daily Times Dr Macpherson had failed to encourage a fair and accurate debate at the meeting.
"It was a free-for-all . . . the sort of emotional, ill-informed outbursts, insults, and rudeness I had to endure last week," he said.
But Dr Macpherson said Mr Purches knew what he was getting himself into when he chose to speak at the meeting.
"If he got some abuse and heckling it was no-one's fault but his. It was a public meeting - anyone can turn up and say whatever they like - that's the point.
"You get what people bring and you've to be prepared to go with the flow," he said.
During the meeting, Dr Macpherson was reported to have tried to calm down the situation, urging those attending "not to shoot the messenger".
Dr Macpherson organised the meeting to rally against power prices in the district and to unite residents for a push towards cheaper electricity.
At the meeting, he asked for support to lobby the Government to reduce power costs, as well as to establish a relief fund for those most in need of financial help with power bills.
A submission to Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee was sent the next day.
Mr Purches said if the meeting was less emotive, people would have been able to understand all the facts - which indicated the average annual power bill for residential consumers in New Zealand was $2215, more than the comparative figure for Central Otago - $2024.
He also said yesterday it was a "myth" Central Otago consumers used more power because of climate, and those in the district paid more for their electricity than other New Zealanders.
Dr Macpherson was prompted to hold the meeting after receiving a letter from an elderly Alexandra woman highlighting her concerns about the cost of electricity.
Mr Purches said the woman, who was a TrustPower customer until yesterday, was about $600 in credit at the time of writing the letter.
When contacted yesterday, the woman, who asked not to be named, confirmed her account with TrustPower had been in credit.
She said her letter was intended to highlight her concerns about other vulnerable people in the area, not just herself.
Mr Purches said Dr Macpherson did not paint a full picture when using the woman's plight as an example.
Dr Macpherson said it was irrelevant the woman was in credit, as she was still concerned about power prices, and he did not regret citing the letter.
The bigger picture was important, and he was glad the issue had gained momentum.
"It's shone a light on how power is costed - taking into account lines companies and not just retailers - and clarified the process for people," he said.
