Good progress being made - 11.30am update

Good progress has been made overnight and this morning restoring power to customers impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

As of 11.30am, there are 3,719 customers without power across Powerco’s network – down from the 8,819 customers who were waiting to be restored at 4.30pm yesterday.

• Coromandel – 1,446 customers
• Taranaki – 769 customers
• South Waikato – 407 customers
• Wairarapa – 322 customers 
• Bay of Plenty – 271 customers
• Whanganui – 197 customers
• Manawatū – 302 customers

“We know how hard it will be for those customers who’ve been without power for up to four days now. I also understand how frustrating it must be sitting there waiting for supply to be restored – particularly if you see crews in your area and you’re still without power,” Powerco Head of Network Operations, Caz Haydon, says.

“Safety is always our priority – to protect members of the public, our focus initially is on making sites safe and attending any downed lines and making the area safe. 

“Our focus then moves to restoring power supply to essential public services and facilities, and then our high voltage regional lines, which are the backbone of our network. We also prioritise those in vulnerable situations and with concerns for their welfare, as well as people who have been without supply for long periods of time. 

“Focus then moves to lower voltage lines that supply individual properties, once we know that any repairs needed to high voltage lines have been made, so that they don’t experience further faults,” she says.

Powerco urges people with welfare concerns to please contact their local Civil Defence Group.

“Constraints to restoring power to all areas continue to be roading access to sites,” Caz Haydon says.

Powerco has multiple crews throughout its network areas assisting with the restoration. 

“Thank you to those customers still waiting to be reconnected, and a reminder to keep an eye on our outage map for updates.”