Thousands of homes and businesses are without electricity tonight after a “district-wide” outage struck part of the West Coast.
Lines company Buller Electricity Limited confirmed at 7.40pm on Monday that the blackout was caused by a fault at the Robertson Substation in Westport, describing it as a “major outage” affecting a large area.
“Our team are working on this and we will post updates as soon as we are able to. Thank you for your understanding,” the company said in a statement.
In a statement at 8.40pm, the company said power was estimated to be restored at around midnight and thanked residents for their patience.
Around 10,000 people live in the Buller District, with population centres like Westport, Karamea, Reefton, and Inangahua Junction.
Buller Electricity serves the north of the West Coast district, from Punakaiki in the south to Kahurangi Point in the north.
It's been a day of power outages across the upper North Island, with trees and high winds downing powerlines.
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