An "extensive" outage in the Far North district has left thousands of people without power this afternoon.
A spokesperson for Top Energy told 1News the cause of the widespread outage was a fault on the 33 kV line to Mt Pokaka, near Kerikeri, after a tree fell on the power line.
"Staff remain on site at our Kaikohe substation, and it appears the primary protection didn’t operate as expected, so backup protection tripped the station, causing a wider outage.
"We will continue to check the equipment at the substation to confirm there has not been any damage arising from the station tripping."
The outage impacted an estimated 23,000 customers across the southern part of the district, according to Top Energy.
Top Energy said the equipment at its Kaikohe substation had been relivened and power would be progressively restored, with the majority of customers expected to regain power by early evening.
Power will remain off to customers on the on the 33 kV line to Mt Pokaka which supplies parts of Kerikeri, Waipapa and Kaeo/Whangaroa.
The Far North District Council warned residents on Facebook: "We have an extensive power outage affecting the southern Far North district just now. Treat all lines as live at all times."
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