Yesterday morning we had 15,000 customers without power (about a quarter of our network), this morning we are down to 10,000 customers out. Over the last two days, we have re-connected 20,000 customers.
Yesterday and overnight the crews have worked hard to restore the high voltage main lines to:
We are aware there are a lot of low voltage issues in these areas that are preventing power to be restored to every household or farm. This could include damaged service lines and pole fuses. We will have crews working on the low voltage issues to get power back on to individual homes and farms once the high voltage main lines have been restored.
Our helicopter fly over yesterday helped us to identify damage in difficult to reach areas. An issue on the main line into Ngunguru was spotted from the air, and last night we gained access to the difficult terrain and repaired this before it caused a major problem. The helicopter fly over will continue today and will be flying along the Pouto peninsular to quickly assess the extent of the damage.
Today our priorities are to work on the main high voltage lines that supply critical infrastructure like council water and sewage pumps, communication sites and to get as many schools and dairy farms re-livened as possible.
We currently have 14 schools across the network without power, and are working on issues today that we hope will see 9 of these schools livened by tomorrow morning. We have 365 of a total of 513 Dairy Farms with power back on now, and work today should see a further 63 livened.
Many farms will have issues with the low voltage lines or service lines on their property. We will work through these with the individual farms as we identify these issues.
We have crews today in the following areas carrying out major repairs:
We are acutely aware that many customers will have power out due to faults on the low voltage lines or equipment like pole or ground mounted transformers and fuses that connect properties. Until the high voltage lines are livened, we often cannot identify these issues properly, but we will get to these after the high voltage restorations.
If power has been restored to your neighbourhood but you do not have power, please call our call centre to ensure we know about your fault.
New information is available on northpower.com/status where you will find area of current issues and our current best estimate of how long power will be out for.
Our restoration priorities balance important welfare and critical infrastructure needs, including focussing on areas that have critical health services, critical infrastructure (including cellular sites), town centres to provide welfare services, rest homes, schools, and dairy farms (animal welfare).
Check your statusIf you have damage to your service line (the line on your property) you may be able to get a contractor to help you. A list of approved contractors is available on northpower.com/gabrielle. If you have damage to your switchboard your electrician will be able to help.
northpower.com/gabrielleWe would like to thank everyone, and especially those without power for their patience and understanding as we work through this.
A reminder to please treat all lines and equipment as live at all times, please stay well clear of downed power lines and call us on 0800 10 40 40.