Power outage: Thousands still in the dark

Lunch by candle light at Firewood restaurant and cafe in Mission Bay. Photo / Brett Phibbs

• 85,000 Auckland homes without power at peak of outage
• Power could be out in some other areas for up to 48-hours
• Auckland's Civil Defence Centre activated to manage the impact
• Two fires damaged Transpower's Penrose substation causing the outage
• Medically dependent and vulnerable customers advised to make alternative arrangements
• Phones have also been affected, with 2degrees, Vodafone and Spark reporting issues
• Suburbs affected include: Remuera, Epsom, Ellerslie, Mt Wellington, Mission Bay, Greenlane, Mt Eden, Orakei, Meadowbank, Kohimarama, Sylvia Park, St Heliers, Glendowie, St Johns, Glen Innes, Onehunga and Rockfield
• Where to get help - Contact Vector 0508 VECTOR (0508 832 867) or 111 if the situation is life-threatening

Almost 40,000 Auckland homes are expected to remain without power overnight following a massive outage caused by a fire early this morning.

A fire at the Penrose substation on in Ellerslie at 2am caused 85,000 households across much of the central city to lose power, including Remuera, Epsom, Ellerslie, Mt Wellington, Mission Bay, Orakei, Kohimarama, Mt Eden and St Heliers.

Lines company Vector advised that power had been restored this afternoon to parts of Ellerslie, Epsom, Newmarket, Onehunga, Penrose and Glen Innes, bringing the number of affected households down to 39,600.

Customers in Sylvia Park, Remuera, Mt Wellington, St Johns, Orakei and St Heliers were expected to remain without power overnight.

View: Penrose substation blaze causes outages

Those dependent on power for medical reasons were advised to make other arrangements, a Vector spokeswoman said.

Vodafone said with power restored to some sites this afternoon, the number of affected sites was down to 45, and generators were being brought in from around the North Island to power key towers on main traffic routes.

The outage forced the closure of the country's largest mall at Sylvia Park and security guards were stationed at every entrance today to turn away disappointed shoppers.

Are you affected by the power outage? Send your stories, photos and video in here

In Remuera, manager of butchery Gourmet Direct, Alex Murphy said she had spent the morning trying to source a portable freezer and generator, however they had all been snapped up already. "It's a nightmare really."

The butchery manager from Remuera New World later came to their aid, offering up space in the Supermarket's freezers.

Photo gallery: Major Auckland power outage

Image 1 of 15: Herald Videographer Daniel Hines was at the scene of the fire during the night. Video still / Daniel Hines

Remuera Fisheries manager Ben Brothers said he was concerned about the $20,000 worth of West Coast white bait he had sitting in a power-less freezer and was working on a solution in conjunction with the butchers.

"The season's so short - [it's only] six weeks long so we buy whatever we can and pack it up and freeze it."

Generator Rental Services Auckland manager Mark Gallagher said their entire fleet of generators had been hired out by early this morning, and estimated they had fielded 300-400 related inquiries.

View: Raw: Fire at Penrose substation

Smith & Caughey's on Broadway was also open and a generator was powering some lights and one till, however escalators were not working and areas of the store were shrouded in darkness.

Civil Defence Auckland's Emergency Coordination Centre was activated and had been working with power companies, emergency services, health and welfare agencies to ensure those in need were being supported and resources were being delivered appropriately.

Police would be on duty to direct traffic at key intersections tomorrow morning, however delays were expected and motorists were advised to plan ahead and look at alternatives such as public transport, ride sharing and cycling or walking.

The areas affected by the power outage.

Police also issued a strong warning against looters, saying extra staff would be on duty in affected areas tonight.

NZTA spokesman Andrew Knackstedt said due to the scale of the disruption, some intersections would be without points-duty officers and advised motorists to consider alternate transport modes, and whether they could go to work late or work from home.

Traffic lights were currently out at about 140 intersections and drivers were being asked to take extra care.

Mobile phone service was also badly affected with about 160 cell sites in the affected region running on battery back-ups which were running low, however some were now running on generators.

Fire crew using specialist foam to extinguish the blaze.

Public transport was operating as normal but there were delays to bus services and issues with ticketing and escalators at some train stations.

Hospitals were largely unaffected, except for Greenlane Hospital, Mercy Hospital in Epsom and Ascot in Greenlane, which were running on generator power.

Auckland District Health Board said in a statement that all essential health services were operational and patient safety had not been compromised.

Auckland Civil Defence have released this graphic earlier today, showing the affected areas and when they should be up and running again:

- Additional reporting Rebecca Quilliam, NZ Herald