Power has been restored for 22 Otago Peninsula households after a power line was brought down by high winds early today.
An Aurora Energy spokeswoman said that power was initially cut to 487 customers at 1.35am, after high winds brought down the line near the intersection of Cape Saunders Rd and McKay Rd, in the Highcliff area.
Power had been restored to most customers by 4am.
A repair crew returned to the site in daylight and power was restored to the remaining 22 affected customers by 11.27am, the spokeswoman said.
Some Roseneath residents were also without power from 7am, when a fuse blew, until about noon.
Further details about whether the damage was weather-related, and exactly how many households were affected, were not available.
The latter fault may also have been weather-related and was believed to affect a relatively small number of households.
The spokeswoman also apologised for the inconvenience.
Thanks to an automatic diesel generator, the University of Otago's Portobello marine laboratory complex suffered no ill-effects from a series of intermittent power cuts after the initial cut, after the power line fell.
Laboratory manager Dr Doug Mackie said the laboratory complex experienced four brief power cuts of, respectively, five minutes, 11 minutes and 10 minutes (the latter twice) at 1.36am, 2.56am, 3.30am and 3.46am.
The diesel generator operated automatically, keeping seawater flowing in fish tanks and refrigerators operating normally.
If the fresh sea water stopped flowing, "the fish aren't happy''.
The automatic system had been "absolutely brilliant'' and there had been no adverse effects at the laboratory, he said.
WINDS EASE
Strong winds battered Dunedin and Clutha overnight, causing power outages for some in Dunedin. A wind watch was in place until 8am today, but was no longer in force.
Winds had also eased on State Highway 87 between Kyeburn and Middlemarch, the New Zealand Transport Agency advised at 6.50pm.
A road snow warning for Dunedin's Northern Motorway was lifted this morning.
