Blackout threat 'not cause of Auckland power cut'

A power outage in Penrose this afternoon has affected about 200 customers this afternoon.

Vector's public affairs manager Sarah Williams said the power cut had nothing to do with Contact Energy's shut down of their 380 megawatt power station this morning.

Ms Williams said the power cut was due to a cable fault.

She said the cut happened shortly after 1pm this afternoon but by 2.30 everyone had been reconnected.

Ms Williams said the fault will be investigated further.

There have been warnings that the North Island is facing the prospect of blackouts today if its aging electricity system fails to cope with a major power station shutting down.

A breakdown at the Taranaki plant last Friday, combined with a lack of wind for wind-generation, high water temperatures in the Waikato River and an inter-island link constrained to only 400MW pushed up power prices and caused concern about power cuts.

- NZ HERALD STAFF / NZPA