A brief but devastating storm on October 23 downed power poles and brought trees down on lines across the region, cutting electricity to an estimated 66,000 properties in Otago and Southland.
In an update this afternoon, a PowerNet spokeswoman said 845 customers on the company's Southland network and 765 on its Otago network were without power, down from, respectively, 8000 and 3000 last Sunday morning.
"This is a significant milestone for the PowerNet teams," the spokeswoman said.
PowerNet was ready to receive outages reports on 0800 808 587 although completing its online form is still the fastest way to log faults.
"You do not need to call or submit a new form if you have done so already," she said.
"There will be additional outages throughout our networks while we identify what needs to happen to reconnect outstanding outages."
"If your power goes off again and doesn’t come back on after four hours, give us a call."
Any obvious damage to services lines within property-owners' boundaries should be inspected by an electrician.
While it may not resolve power issues, it would ensure properties were ready to be reconnected to the network when PowerNet crews arrived.
Most parks, reserves, and playgrounds in Invercargill, Bluff, and Southland District remain closed until inspected.
"There is significant concern with public still entering into closed park and reserve areas."
In the Clutha district, which was also battered by the storm, Balclutha residents are being asked to conserve their water usage until further notice.
"There are disruptions at the water treatment plant due to mechanical issues with a valve. Operators are on site now working to repair the problem," Clutha District Council said.
"The reservoir is currently sitting at 60% so we are issuing a conserve notice as a precaution, asking people to monitor their water use and avoid activities that require a large amount of water (washing vehicles, etc.) to give the reservoir time to recover once repairs are complete."
- Allied Media
