The team at work installing a new power pole in Ermedale, rural Southland. Photo / Matthew Rosenberg, LDR
The team at work installing a new power pole in Ermedale, rural Southland. Photo / Matthew Rosenberg, LDR
A linesman working to repair Southland’s stricken power network after severe weather says the past week has been “apocalyptic”.
About 2200 customers are still without power after a freak storm on October 23 that threw the region into a state of emergency.
PowerNet distribution team leader Rob Wylie is oneof those leading the charge to fix that and said the situation was like nothing he’d seen previously.
“I’ve worked with a lot of guys in various depots that have been here a lot longer than I have, and they’re the same. I don’t think anyone in the company’s seen sort of damage like this before.”
PowerNet team leader Rob Wylie says the damage in the region from last week's storm is the worst he's seen on the job. Photo / Matthew Rosenberg, LDR
Wylie said some staff were working up to 15 hours a day just to complete jobs, but progress was being made and spirits were high.
“It’s day by day. It’s just chipping away now. It’s been a long haul to get where we are, and there’s still a lot to go, but the morale’s up, the teams are all pretty happy you know. Everyone’s giving each other a bit of stick.”
On Friday afternoon, teams were working to restore power at Mitchell Rd in a rural area of Southland, just north of Riverton/Aparima.
Emergency Management has described the restoration as complex because of widespread damage, and Wylie said there were challenges such as water pooling on the sides of roads – areas where they tended to operate.
Fred Allan and Josidy Tallada are among the workers improving the outlook for those still without power in Southland. Photo / Matthew Rosenberg, LDR
The work itself was similar to day-to-day operations except now it was all happening at once, Wylie said.
A key focus was restoring the service of high-voltage feeders, which he described as the main arteries coming down the road, feeding multiple transformers into people’s houses.
“Once you get them on you can start livening up communities and areas, as opposed to just focusing on individual properties.”
People experiencing outages are encouraged to report them through PowerNet’s Facebook page/online form or by calling 0800 808 587.
Southland remains under a state of emergency, which was extended on Thursday night by Mayor Rob Scott.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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