Interruption To Power Supply – 5pm Update

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Interruption To Power Supply – 5pm Update

Power supply to approximately 12,000 consumers in the Coromandel, Thames Valley and Tauranga areas was interrupted today as a result of extreme weather.

Powerco Network Operations Manager Ross Dixon said network crews had so far restored supply to around 9,000 of the affected customers, and would continue to work into the evening to restore power to as many of the remaining customers as possible.

Gale force winds and heavy rains have caused hundreds of separate faults to Powerco’s networks. This includes more than 25 separate major faults. The weather is expected to worsen from early evening through until the early hours of the morning.

“Our teams will continue working to repair the damage through the night, as long as it is safe for them to do so, and will resume work at first light, if necessary,” Mr Dixon said.

“We expect that the restoration effort will need to be sustained through the day tomorrow as the poor weather is expected to continue.”

Powerco is New Zealand’s second largest electricity and second largest gas distribution utility with around 400,000 consumers connected to its networks. Powerco’s electricity networks are in Tauranga, Thames, Coromandel, Eastern and Southern Waikato, Taranaki, Wanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu and the Wairarapa. Its gas pipeline networks are in Taranaki, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatu and the Hawke’s Bay.

ENDS

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