Power Restored In Marlborough; Queues For Bakery In Blenheim

Thursday, 23 October 2025, 4:41 pm
Article: Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter

October 22, 2025

Power has been restored in Marlborough after outages hit the entire region on Thursday morning. Marlborough Lines confirmed about 10am that power was being restored across the region.

"Transpower has now restored power to their substations in the Upper South Island. "We are gradually relivening the network and expect full restoration by 12pm. 

Please treat all lines as live at all times, especially if any lines have come down — stay well clear and report any hazards immediately." 

A rare red wind warning for South Marlborough and Canterbury forced flight cancellations, power outages and closures across the South Island on Thursday, with gusts of up to 150kph. 

The rest of Marlborough had an orange wind warning from 6am to 4pm and Marlborough Emergency Management asked people to avoid travelling, with peak winds forecast about 12pm on Thursday.

Queues for Blenheim's few open shops Many businesses were forced to close due to the outage and some were operating cash only. Woolworths Blenheim closed due to the power outage and there was a queue at the door of people wanting to stock up for the long Labour Weekend. 

Brumby's Bakery in central Blenheim was one of the few shops in central Blenheim that was open during the power cut and had a line of customers out the door. The bakery could only take cash, with IOUs reserved only for regulars. Some customers asked staff to set aside items for them while they went to grab some cash. 

“We need to get rid of all our food so we can go home,” Brumby's manager Sommer Mules said. 

A Facebook post saying they were selling their pies for $5 cash each had triggered a buying frenzy, with all pies except three mini savouries gone before 9.30am. “Yeah, that was a bit of a rush,” Mules said. 

“One guy bought six.” Mules said that without a till she was writing transactions down on a paper bag. 

Her daughter was in the back as she was off school because of the teachers’ strike, which still went ahead although the march through central Blenheim was called off. 

People urged not to travel Regional controller Richard McNamara said the Awatere Valley, Wairau Valley and the Marlborough Sounds were expected to be the hardest hit, with gusts of up to 140kph forecast, and he asked people to avoid travelling and conserve cellphone batteries. 

Marlborough lost power along with much of the South Island on Thursday morning, with major faults on the Transpower network. KiwiRail closed the TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific lines. Wastewater pump stations across Marlborough were affected by the power outage and some did not have generators. 

“Please do not flush your toilet until advised otherwise,” McNamara said. 

The strong winds caused closures such as the Wither Hills Farm Park in Blenheim, which had gusts of 94kph on Thursday morning, and the Snout Track in Picton. The Blenheim and Picton libraries were closed, Intercity cancelled bus services to Christchurch, and the Bluebridge cancelled ferries, though Interislander continued scheduled crossings. 

Blenheim and Picton transfer stations were closed due to power outages and Bluegums landfill was working at restricted levels of service. Visitors to Marlborough are advised to come to the Blenheim i-SITE for assistance. 

For preparedness advice, please go to: https://getready.govt.nz 

For weather updates go to: www.metservice.com

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