Bird causes hundreds to go without power in Napier

Unison residents are without power in parts of Napier this morning. Photo / File

A wayward and now dead bird is believed to have caused hundreds of Napier residents to go without power this morning.

Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said about 900 residents in the Taradale area were affected for just under an hour, from 4.55am through to 5.50am.

He said the bird flew into the lines which caused a "flash over" because of the impact, which then trips the circuit.

"There was evidence of that when the fault teams were inspecting the lines and they saw the bird just below the power pole."

However, it was a relatively easy fix.

"We had staff on site within about 25 minutes and it was just a case of us going through what we call restoration protocols and that gets power put back on," Gough said.

"Most people would have been in bed and wouldn't have noticed it until they woke up and maybe saw their alarm clocks flashing."