An intense thunderstorm that shook houses in Kaka Point on Wednesday night may also have snuffed out the lighthouse at nearby Nugget Point.
The light had been out since early Thursday morning, Wellington-based Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Rendle said.
''At this point I've been advised that this appears to be equipment failure.
''I don't have any information that it was a lightning strike, but it may well have been a power surge that possibly caused it. I don't have that detail.''
The battery charger at Nugget Point failed early on Thursday, in turn causing the light to fail.
Faults were very rare, Mr Rendle said.
There were 142 lighthouses in New Zealand and typically only one or two outages a year, which were ''normally lightning related''.
Maritime Radio coastal navigation warnings had been being issued every four hours since 6pm on Thursday and would continue while the light is out.
Repairs would be completed by today, and had required some relocation of equipment.
