Massive storm response as crews restore power across lower North Island
The wild weather that battered Whanganui-Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Tararua and Wairarapa last Sunday (15 February) saw more than 25,000 properties without power at the height of the storm recovery.
Since then, Powerco contracted crews have attended 1,689 jobs. This has included more than 500 lines brought down by the storm, compared with an average week across the network of around 20.
“We’ve experienced the highest fault volumes and damage to the network since Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, which has required a massive responsive from contractors and our people,” says Powerco Head of Network Operations, Mark Dunn.
More than 250 field staff have been involved in the response across the region, not including vegetation crews, traffic management contractors and support staff. Crews have travelled from as far afield as Taranaki, Hamilton, Matamata, Tauranga and Dannevirke, working 12–14 hour days to carry out repairs and restore power.
“This has been an enormous team effort and we’re grateful for everyone’s hard work to get the power back on for customers,” says Mark Dunn.
With some customers without power for multiple days, Powerco has been working closely with Civil Defence Emergency Management to support customers who have been without power for extended periods.
Over the weekend, helicopters were used to access hard-to-reach areas and string lines in remote parts of Wairarapa and Whanganui-Rangitīkei, helping crews make progress where ground access was limited.
Mark Dunn says there’s been a long tail to the storm recovery. Access has been a real challenge, with trees down across the affected regions, including through forestry blocks, and outages have been widespread and in remote locations.
“We appreciate how frustrating it is to be without power and thank people for their patience and the resilience they were required to call on.” he says.
Since then, Powerco contracted crews have attended 1,689 jobs. This has included more than 500 lines brought down by the storm, compared with an average week across the network of around 20.
“We’ve experienced the highest fault volumes and damage to the network since Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, which has required a massive responsive from contractors and our people,” says Powerco Head of Network Operations, Mark Dunn.
More than 250 field staff have been involved in the response across the region, not including vegetation crews, traffic management contractors and support staff. Crews have travelled from as far afield as Taranaki, Hamilton, Matamata, Tauranga and Dannevirke, working 12–14 hour days to carry out repairs and restore power.
“This has been an enormous team effort and we’re grateful for everyone’s hard work to get the power back on for customers,” says Mark Dunn.
With some customers without power for multiple days, Powerco has been working closely with Civil Defence Emergency Management to support customers who have been without power for extended periods.
Over the weekend, helicopters were used to access hard-to-reach areas and string lines in remote parts of Wairarapa and Whanganui-Rangitīkei, helping crews make progress where ground access was limited.
Mark Dunn says there’s been a long tail to the storm recovery. Access has been a real challenge, with trees down across the affected regions, including through forestry blocks, and outages have been widespread and in remote locations.
“We appreciate how frustrating it is to be without power and thank people for their patience and the resilience they were required to call on.” he says.
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