More outages possible for wind-whipped regions

Power is back on for most customers after a damaging storm tore through the lower south, but there's a warning there may be more outages.

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Wild winds on October 23 toppled trees, causing power to be knocked out for thousands in Southland and South Otago. Communications and and water supplies were also affected.

A state of emergency was imposed for Southland and Clutha.

In a statement today, PowerNet said "just a handful" of customers remained without power, but chief executive Peter Blue said though the  state of emergency has been lifted in both regions, recovery efforts were still under way and the work was far from over.

Mr Blue said people should be aware that while the obvious storm related damage to the networks had been repaired, there may be damage not immediately visible that could result in unplanned outages in coming months.

Meanwhile, staff are in contact with the few customers without power. In some cases this was due to extensive damage with service lines on their property, which meant restoration was not able to happen quickly.

“We’ve talked with all the customers we are aware of to understand their needs and they have generators to keep them going until power can be fully restored.

“If there’s anybody who hasn’t heard from us and doesn’t have power, they need to get in touch urgently on 0800 808 587.”

Mr Blue said more than 50,000 customers have had their power restored since the storm, thanks to a massive effort by PowerNet staff, colleagues from around the country, contractors and suppliers.

“The network damage we saw in this storm was unprecedented and it’s quite an achievement to have power restored to so many.”

While crews are still repairing properties without power, most PowerNet staff were now starting to resume planned work.

“It’s important that we get back to our planned maintenance as quickly as possible to ensure our networks are resilient to future weather events," Mr Blue said.

“Our customers should be notified by their retailer of any planned outages and they can also keep an eye on our website for information.”

Mr Blue said he wanted to again thank everyone for their support during the major weather event.

“Everyone, from the PowerNet staff, our electricity industry colleagues from around the country, our contractors, suppliers and the entire community, rallied together to get through this and that’s something to be very proud of.”

- Allied Media