Eketāhuna outages leave 400-plus without power

Powerco manages gas and electricity networks in the central and lower North Island. Photo / Bevan Conley

An outage that saw more than 400 customers in Eketāhuna without power last week is believed to have been caused by birds hitting power lines.

A spokesperson from electricity supplier Powerco says power was cut last Monday around 6.40pm.

Field crews found tangled lines near a wetland when they went to investigate the cause.

The lines were untangled and supply was restored with all customers’ power back on by 9.17pm.

There was a similar outage on August 16 at 6.43pm.

The spokesperson says it was raining heavily at the time of that outage and supply was progressively restored throughout the evening.

Head of network operations Caz Haydon thanked the Eketāhuna community for its patience and understanding while work was carried out to restore supply.

“We understand that losing power, particularly in the early evening when you’re trying to make dinner, light the house and keep it warm, is very frustrating,” Haydon says.

There have also been planned outages for some customers with two affected on August 12 between 10am and 2pm for a transformer upgrade and on August 11 between 9.45am and 2.30pm to replace crossarms on a power pole.

Powerco and Federated Farmers are holding a public meeting on August 30 at the Eketāhuna Rugby Clubrooms starting at 5pm.

Federated Farmers Tararua co-president Sally Dryland says it’s a chance for both the company and residents to talk about how “we can help each other”.

It’s also an opportunity to ask Powerco’s team questions, give feedback, learn more about planned upgrades to the electricity network and how to respond if affected by a power outage.

Call Sally on 027 423 8997 or email tararua@fedfarm.org.nz to register.