Coromandel Peninsula storm outage update

Powerco field crews are working to restore power to customers in the Hauraki and Coromandel Peninsula areas following strong winds yesterday and today.

Power was cut to 1,176 Whangamatā customers just after 1am today after a crossarm on a power pole broke. Supply was restored to the majority of customers about 3am. It’s expected the work to fix the pole and lines, to enable the remaining 206 customers to be reconnected, will be completed by late this afternoon.

To enable the work to be carried out safely, Powerco fault crews need assistance from road management crews. With the amount of flood-related roading issues currently in the region, including slips and trees down over the road, there have been delays in accessing a road management team.

Powerco thanks customers for their patience and understanding as fault crews work as quickly and safely as possible to make the repairs in the challenging weather conditions.

Wind-blown debris flying into power lines has also caused power cuts in and around Thames and Paeroa during the past 24 hours. In one incident, power was cut just after 4pm yesterday to 347 customers in and around the Tapu area, north of Thames, after a wind-blown tree brought down lines on Tapu Coroglen Rd.

In another incident near Hikutaia, 56 customers have been without power since 12.30am today after a tree fell on a power transformer on Maratoto Rd causing sparking.

In the event of an emergency such as power lines coming down, Powerco urges people to stay well clear of lines as they may be live and call its 24/7 emergency line on 0800 27 27 27 or 111.