Powerless: About 40,000 still without power in Hawke’s Bay

Access issues due to slips, flooding and damaged infrastructure have delayed power restoration. Photo / Paul Taylor

More than 40,000 still without electricity after the submerging of Transpower’s station at Redclyffe, near Napier, face a second night in the dark, and possibly several days more.

Unison Network relationship manager Danny Gough says people should be prepared for the outage to continue over an “extended period”.

“It could be still several days,” he said. “But we will be working with Transpower with the utmost urgency to get power restored asap. We should have a clearer picture of timeframes in the next day.”

A timeline for restoration has not yet been given, but he said Transpower had been able to access the flooded Redclyffe substation on Tuesday to begin assessing the extent of the damage and identify the repairs needed to restore transmission supply to the region.

”Unison is continuing to work closely with Transpower on the development of a proactive recovery plan that explores all options and alternatives for reconnecting customers as quickly as possible,” he said.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, he said that close to 32,000 in Napier were still without power due to limited supply from Transpower’s national grid. In Hastings, 5,000 households had had supply restored, but 9,900 were still without power.

”We do face ongoing challenges in the Hawke’s Bay with a number of access issues due to slips, flooding and damaged infrastructure,” he said.

”While good progress has been made in large parts of Hastings and Havelock North, outages continue in other areas, especially in Napier due to limited supply from Transpower’s national grid.” Communities should be prepared to be without power for an extended period,” he said, adding Unison wanted to reassure customers that it is working “very closely” with Transpower New Zealand to develop a restoration plan.

”This includes exploring all alternatives to reconnecting customers as quickly as possible,” he said. During power outages, Unison regularly advises the following safety precautions: Check for fallen or damaged electricity lines and treat lines as live at all times. Never touch wires or lines lying on the ground, hanging from poles, or objects such as tree branches that may be touching them. Fallen lines or wires may still be carrying an electrical current and could shock, injure or even kill if touched. Unison is urging anyone who sees a power line down to call 0800 2 Unison.

Turn off the power at the main switch if you suspect any electrical damage in your home. If the power goes out, turn off all electrical appliances to prevent possible damage by a power surge when the electricity supply is restored.

Remember that if the electricity network is damaged, it might take some time to get reconnected, so make sure you have a battery operated radio, a torch, spare batteries, and a full gas bottle for your BBQ as part of your emergency kit. Medically dependant customers are advised to prepare for the likelihood of no power and make alternative arrangements in advance.