Shareholders have taken Vector executives to task over the recent major power outage in Auckland.

The Penrose substation caught fire earlier this month, but Vector says they're still working through what caused it and that will not be known for some time.

One of the shareholders told the Vector annual general meeting the power outage is more likely an act of negligence than an act of God.

She's blaming it on a lack of maintenance and told the AGM that Vector should stop paying out all the dividends and put some of that money back into maintenance.

Vector's dividend payout for the year is $15.25 per share.