The crash, which happened about 10.50am in Union St (State Highway 1), cut power to about 400 properties around Milton.
It left Milton volunteer firefighters battling to get out of their own station to respond to the crash. The outage deactivated the building's electric door.
Acting Senior Sergeant Jared Kirk, of Dunedin, said the crash ''dropped the pole on to a lean, and the live wires were left sparking for a short time on the ground''.
''Diversions were put in place and the road was closed until the power pole could be supported and the live wires disconnected appropriately.''
The driver - a 47-year-old man - was taken to Dunedin Hospital with minor injuries, a St John spokesman said.
Acting Snr Sgt Kirk said the cause of the crash was still being investigated, ''but Union St's a straight piece of road'', he said.
''How the car came to collide with a power pole is still part of the police investigation.''
Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer Robbie Philip said the power outage meant the fire station's siren and electric door were both deactivated.
Brigade members were able to be alerted to the crash by pagers, and used a manual override to open the door, he said.
PowerNet chief executive Jason Franklin, of Invercargill, said staff quickly deactivated the live lines on the road, making it safe for emergency services to help the driver.
Power was restored to most homes within ''a couple of hours'' and to the last of the affected properties by 7pm, he said.
