Update: Power outage in Tauranga, Mt Maunganui

A huge power outage has left the CBD in Tauranga without electricity.

Power to Mount Maunganui and Papmoa has also been cut although supply in Greerton and Welcome Bay has now been restored.

A Powerco spokeswoman said the outage was due to a fault on the Transpower network - the national grid.

ANZ Bank has advised its customers of branch closures in the area.

"Due to a power outage affecting the greater Tauranga area, ANZ branches from Katikati to Papamoa have closed."

Powerco's website reports that the outage, which happened at 2.16pm today will be fixed by 4pm.

"Some traffic lights are working, and some aren't. All the CBD's out, it's pretty much the whole region," said one Tauranga resident.

She said power provider Powerco had not let anyone know how the cut had happened.

Another woman was driving down Hewlett's Rd and had noticed people coming out of buildings and onto the street.

"They were standing out in the street looking at their phones and wondering what to do."

A Fire Service spokeswoman said they knew very little about the situation at the moment