Weather improves for storm power recovery

Good power restoration gains are expected today with improved weather conditions in the Powerco regions hardest hit by wild weather overnight Sunday and yesterday (Monday).

Crews from throughout the North Island have joined the local effort to restore power to customers in Whanganui-Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Tararua and Wairarapa.

Helicopters have been used this morning to assess damage from the air, so that contracting crews can then access remote areas with the correct equipment.

Multiple poles and lines are down, particularly in the Whanganui and Manawatū regions, with complete rebuilds of sections of the electricity network needed before power can be restored, Mark Dunn, Powerco Head of Network Operations, says.

The severity of the damage means Powerco is unable to provide customer restoration times.

“One of the hardest hit areas is Himatangi in Manawatū, where our contracting crews are pretty much rebuilding the power line network on some of the roads. There’s hardly any poles still standing, so there’s quite a bit of work to do in that area.

“While they are continuing to work as quickly and safely as possible, and they will make gains in reconnecting the numbers of customers without power, there is a lot of rebuilding to do in some areas, and this will take time.

“I understand how frustrating it is to be without power, but please be assured that we are doing everything we can to get people reconnected as quickly as we can – but it could still take days for some customers,” Mark Dunn says.

The storm damage has been so bad in some areas, crews have needed to clear the road of debris before they can even access fault jobs. 

“Yesterday, our contracting crews helped with a big cleanup job, clearing the state highway through Mangaweka. They had a truck there, and the team cut the logs and cleared the road because they needed to get through to assess network damage and get people back on,” Mark Dunn says.

If people encounter an emergency situation – such as downed lines – call Powerco’s emergency number: 0800 27 27 27 or 111.

By 11.30am today, power had been restored to almost 17,000 customers in the affected regions, having started yesterday morning with around 25,000 properties without electricity on Powerco’s electricity network.

As of 11.30am today, there were about 8,220 customers without power in Powerco’s electricity network area, with the most impacted regions being:

• Whanganui: 3,284
• Manawatū: 3,801
• Wairarapa: 1,103