Hundreds of customers remain without power across the lower South Island after two separate events — a national grid fault and a fierce storm — knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses today.
National grid owner Transpower NZ hit a significant issue at lunchtime, cutting supply to most of Southland for around two hours and leaving approximately 25,000 customers in the dark.
At the same time, stormy conditions that battered Southland and parts of Otago from the early hours of Sunday and through the afternoon caused their own outages across the region.
An orange-level strong wind warning for Southland and parts of Otago was lifted at around 2pm on Sunday.
Lines company PowerNet estimates about 800 customers are still without power while crews work to repair the damage - roughly 500 in Southland and 300 in Otago.
PowerNet operations general manager Geoff Thorburn said field teams had been well prepared for the storm.
"We have had crews out since the early hours of Sunday morning, when the winds first hit. They were out working on repairs when Transpower's issue first occurred and have continued working through this afternoon," he said.
Thorburn said the grid fault should no longer be the cause of any lingering outages.
"Everyone affected by Transpower's outage will have had their electricity restored by now, unless there is weather-related damage to poles or lines. If you are still without electricity, and you haven't called us to let us know, do so now on 0800 808 587."
He said lightning had done much of the damage.
"We've experienced a lot of lightning strikes throughout Southland which can cause significant damage to our electricity infrastructure, and can take quite some time to repair."
Thorburn urged people to stay away from downed lines.
"If you come across any storm-related damage today where vegetation or debris is in contact with lines, don't be tempted to try and clear it yourself. Call 111 if there's immediate danger - or call us on our 0800 number."
He credited residents, businesses and farmers for the preparation work done since last year's October wind event, including trimming or removing trees near powerlines.
"We know that many of you have been checking, trimming, and cutting down trees that threaten powerlines over the past year, and that will have made a difference today."
PowerNet said it was too early to tell whether people should prepare to be without power overnight, and encouraged residents to check their emergency kits.
Anyone medically dependent on power was advised to activate their emergency plan or contact their medical provider for support.
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