800 still without power in Auckland

Monday, 23 January 2017

More than 800 households are still without electricity in Auckland as crews work tirelessly to repair 18 separate faults. 

Linesmen worked throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning to restore power outages that were caused mostly by branches having fallen over powerlines, after the weekend's unsettled weather.

Maraetai was the worst affected area with 394 households expected to be left without power until 8pm on Monday, after a car hit a power pole on Sunday night.

Elsewhere in the city, at least seven power poles needed replacing, a Vector spokeswoman said. 

READ MORE: Heavy rain, severe gales ease but there's more foul weather to come

It usually takes four to six hours each pole, she said.

Vector hired more help to get the job done faster, estimating most of the faults to be repaired by Monday afternoon. 

'Despite a couple of more complicated jobs, things are looking up: power has been restored to most of Auckland,' the spokeswoman said.

More than 15,000 homes were initially left without power after Saturday night's storm. 

The Fire Service responded to more than 200 weather-related calls and by 3pm on Sunday, 9500 households in Auckland were without power.

The power cuts have been taking their toll on food suppliers as frozen goods began to spoil from a lack of refrigeration.

The Whitford Food Depot in Whitford said on Monday morning it had been closed since Saturday night, when its power was cut.

'We have lost a lot of our chilled and frozen stock so please bear with us while we get the shelves filled back up again this week.'

Lots of jobs closed off last night but still a few smaller areas without power & new reports still coming. Our outage web page has updates

— Vector Ltd (@Vectorltd) January 22, 2017

Vector encouraged people to keep updated via its outage app and be mindful when planning their days.

'It's very important that people stay well clear of fallen power lines or damaged electrical equipment.

'People using medical equipment that rely on electricity should let their retailer know and ensure they are prepared for power disruptions.'