Henri Eliot talks to professional directors Mark Verbiest, Tony Carter, Doug McKay and Rob Campbell about their focal points in 2016.

Hydro lake levels are falling and wholesale power prices rising as drought threatens in parts of the country.

Vector says compensation from this month's power cuts - which affected 85,000 customers - won't be discussed until the cause of the fire that sparked them was known.

Up to 80 per cent of Auckland electricity customers have signed contracts that allow their hot water to be cut off - but many were unaware until the blackouts.

Some Auckland residents were without hot water until late this morning following yet another fault with Vector’s electricity network.

An investigation into the substation fire which cut power to tens of thousands of Aucklanders will be jointly carried out by Transpower and Vector.

About 200 customers remain without power after extreme weather damaged power lines in the central and lower North Island yesterday.

When the lights go out over a large part of a city the size of Auckland, questions must be asked. How did this happen? Who allowed it to happen? Whose head must roll?

Vector has warned recently restored power users to expect to be 'dropped' from the system during peak times today, as a former chairman criticises the company.

Parnell hotels were full up with families and people suffering with health issues, said hotel staff in the area.

Auckland suburbs that have been without power for more than a day and a half face a further delay until the lights come back on.

Power should be restored to all Auckland suburbs by 5am tomorrow, lines company Vector said.

The NZ Transport Agency said was currently heavy on the Northern Motorway into the city, due to the flow on effects from yesterday's powercut.

Here we go again. Another power emergency in Auckland, a city that's building a reputation for them, writes Grant Bradley.

The reason so many people lost power yesterday is because the substation at Penrose is very old and supplies a disproportionate amount of power to a large area of the city, says an energy expert.

Over the past couple of weeks, households have been receiving nasty surprises in the mail.

Hundreds of thousands of Transpower customers lost power today when backup measures failed to kick in while the company simulated a "catastrophic power failure".

Transpower has appointed chemical company executive Alison Andrew to replace chief executive Patrick Strange.

Consumers should enjoy lower power prices with a massive upgrade to the high-voltage electricity link between the North and South Islands, the electricity industry says.

Electricity retailer Mercury Energy has announced its first across the board price cuts in a decade.