Power back on in Far North after substation failure cuts electricity, but network ‘vulnerable’ - Top Energy

More than 23,000 people in the Far North lost power last night after equipment failed at a substation. Photo / Top Energy

The power is back on for thousands across a large swathe of the Far North affected by a major power cut yesterday.

However, the electricity network ”remains vulnerable” and people should be conservative with their power use, especially during peak periods, Top Energy wrote on its Facebook page just before 8am.

More than 23,000 households across the Far North, including in Kerikeri, Russell, Paihia, Kaikohe and Kawakawa, were left without electricity from 5.21pm after what Top Energy described as a “substantial” equipment failure.

All but around 200 households had power back by 11.40pm after the outage, which was caused by a failure of a switchboard at a Kaikohe substation.

This morning, Top Energy urged people to be mindful of their power use.

“We are currently running on our smallest transformer at Kaikohe with diesel generation at Omanaia supporting the southern network.

“Ngāwhā generation is offline for planned annual maintenance, so we do not have our usual backup. To avoid overloading the system, please be conservative with your power use today – use only what you need, especially during the morning and evening peaks.“

They urged anyone who is, or has someone in their household, medically dependent on electricity to make sure their back-up plan was in place.

“If you are worried about anyone’s health or safety, call 111 immediately. This morning our team will confirm the full extent of the damage and next steps.

“Thank you for your support while we work through this; we understand your frustration and the uncertainty this has caused after last week’s outage as well.”

Last night, Top Energy wrote on Facebook that half of the 33kV switchboard was damaged during the outage.

“We’ve successfully livened the undamaged half and will now restore power progressively over the next 2–3 hours, subject to final safety checks," the post said.

“We are hopeful that the 33kV switchboard damage is limited to this breaker.”

The outage was unlikely to be related to another in the Far North on Friday afternoon last week, which was caused by a tree strike on the 33kV line to Mt Pokaka, they wrote.

Last night’s outage sparked frustration online, especially occurring just before dinner.

But most were understanding.

“Time to get the BBQ out early,” wrote one woman.

“In emergencies we can handle peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Thankfully we have our small gas stove.”

“I’m all for it,” wrote another.

“Can’t cook dinner, and my kids have appeared out of their rooms with no wifi.”

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