For five hours on Thursday night, the electricity network management company cut power to 154 properties on a dozen streets in Palmerston, including the main thoroughfare, Ronaldsay St.
Householders and business owners have expressed concern about the decision to go ahead with the scheduled maintenance and frustration with the multi-layered process of letting affected customers know.
The planned power outage was scheduled from 9pm on Thursday to 5am yesterday to allow contractors to cut back vegetation near power lines.
Palmerston streets affected were Brough St, Copinsha St, District Rd, Gilligan St, Ronaldsay St, Runbrake St, Sanday St, Sandy St, Stour St, Stromness St, Stronsa St and Tiverton St.
The temperature dropped to 0degC early yesterday.
Dr Bronwen Cresswell said it was right on 9pm when her house, near Ross Park, suddenly went dark.
In April, she had received an email from Contact Energy telling her about the upcoming outage, but she had forgotten by the time it happened.
Going outside to look for a torch in her garage, Dr Cresswell came across a neighbour doing the same.
"I joked, ‘It would be the bloody coldest night of the year’," Dr Cresswell said.
She had a woodburner so was able to keep warm, but wished she had been able to put the kettle on for a cup of tea.
"We all depend on our electrics, don’t we.
"To be all night, if you didn’t know, it could have been distressing."
The power came back on at 1.46am, turning on Dr Cresswell’s lights and other electric appliances.
McGregors Bakery and Tearooms manager Corey Hondelink said he was not informed of the planned outage by his electrical retailer, Powershop.
As a result, his store’s online systems went down.
"The tills were all jammed up this morning," Mr Hondelink said.
"That’s how I found out about it. There was no email, no letter, nothing."
It took half an hour to get things running again.
"It’s pretty annoying ... you’d think they would inform you, especially if you have sensitive equipment."
Powershop did not respond to questions by time of publication.
A PowerNet spokesman said planned outage notifications were communicated to customers through their electricity retailer.
"Unfortunately, there is never a good time to turn someone’s power off," the spokesman said.
"This outage time was chosen to minimise disruption to customers."
Asked why PowerNet did not trim the vegetation during summer, the spokesman said maintenance could be required at any time of the year.
"Vegetation interrupts power supply when it grows too close to lines, causing unplanned outages."
By Jules Chin
