Just 65 customers across Otago and Southland remain without power this afternoon.
PowerNet chief executive Paul Blue said the devastation to power networks was "significant", and he was proud of the way his team had rallied to restore power to so many customers within two weeks.
“Immediately after the storm we had more than 50,000 customers without power, there were poles down everywhere, trees on lines and lines lying on the ground," Mr Blue said
“Our crews, supported by crews from electricity distribution companies around the country, have worked tirelessly to repair the damage and get power back to our customers around Southland and Clutha. Most importantly this work was caried out without serious harm to our team or the public.”
Mr Blue said the level of support had been impressive – from colleagues, contractors and the communities we serve.
“When we put out the call to the electricity industry for help, it was answered very quickly, and we are really grateful. Crews arrived from around the country within days. The response was also supported by many contractors and suppliers who did everything they could to assist the restoration including traffic management, tree removal and sourcing a huge number of supplies to rebuild our networks.
“Meanwhile, our community has shown amazing grace and gratitude throughout a difficult time, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity shown to our teams.
“Those gifts of food, thank you cards, and kind words expressed in person and online, have kept the spirits of our staff high as they battled through.
“I’m also very proud of all our staff who have made themselves available for the last two weeks and worked incredibly hard on the restoration, many of them going home to no power themselves and forgoing time with their families and friends.”
Mr Blue said work would continue to get power restored for every customer, and regular planned work was also set to resume over the coming weeks.
“It’s important we get back to our planned network maintenance to ensure our network is resilient in the face of future weather events.”
