Two motorists crashed within minutes of each other about 3am on Saturday.
One hit a power pole in Fernhill Rd. As a result, power was cut to houses in Fernhill, Sunshine Bay and the township of Glenorchy.The other motorist hit a house fence in Thompson St, near the town centre.
In the first accident, power lines were down and across the road when police officers arrived at the scene.
But there were no injuries.
Gary Johnson, head of external relations at Aurora Energy, said: "The damage included the pole and a high-voltage cable supplying local residents."Power was restored to the majority of customers by 11.30am."
Police processed both drivers for drink-driving.The police media team, in Wellington, did not have information about the Fernhill Rd driver’s test result.
A 21-year-old has been charged with drink-driving and careless driving over the Thompson St crash.It appears he drove a rental car across a garden and crashed into a fence. The airbags were deployed.
Homeowner and volunteer firefighter Preston Rogers-Brown said: "Two years ago someone didn’t take the bend correctly and totally wrote off my truck, so this is the second time this has happened.
"We’re on the bend and we’ve asked the council to put in speed humps but they won’t do it."
Mr Rogers-Brown’s wife, Julz, was outside with her dog at the time.
"I heard it happen," she said, "and this is the second time, so that’s the shock.
"I went around to see the driver, with my neighbour whose bedroom he nearly drove into."
They both spoke to the driver, who was conscious and uninjured. He is due in the Queenstown District Court today.
Mr Rogers-Brown said his Fire and Emergency New Zealand pager beeped as the police arrived.
"I thought ‘come on, we don’t need the brigade out to this’, but it was for the other crash in Fernhill."
