Wairarapa storm power outage update

Powerco has every available crew working in challenging conditions to reconnect power to the remaining customers in Wairarapa.

Electricity to Castlepoint and surrounding areas, affecting 316 customers, is expected to be restored this afternoon following the significant rainfall and strong winds that battered the North Island on Sunday.

Network Operations Manager Scott Horniblow said the power supply to eastern Wairarapa, including Castlepoint and surrounding areas, was cut after forestry trees slipped down a hillside, taking out power lines and other infrastructure with it during the storm.

“There was no access for our crews to make repairs as it sits along a ridgeline on a hill. There have been and continue to be multiple road closures in the area with trees across roads,” he says.

Where safe to do so, a helicopter was used on Monday morning to locate fault sites. 

In an effort to get customers connected earlier, crews attempted to install a generator in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“Unfortunately, on livening the generator, it too experienced a mechanical fault that was unfixable. The team then started to cut their access way through the debris and walk in to find the fault and fix it,” Scott Horniblow says.

Powerco is working on a solution for the future of the power network for Castlepoint and surrounding areas and is looking to communicate this with residents in the coming months.

A total of 6,898 customers throughout the company’s footprint are still without power following the widespread outages caused by Cyclone Dovi.

“We know it’s difficult to be without power and understand the challenges that it creates for those at home and businesses who are unable to operate,” Scott Horniblow says. 

“Reconnecting customers continues to be our number one priority, particularly those who have been without power for some time now. We have every available crew working on the remaining faults which range from broken power poles, downed lines, trees in lines and broken hardware. The aftermath of the storm means there are still slips blocking roads, which slows down work and makes it difficult for them to access sites.

Powerco encourages customers who are without power to log the fault through its website at www.powerco.co.nz.