Whanganui suburb of Bastia Hill hit with string of power outages

There were five power faults caused by vegetation on Bastia Hill 'towards the end of last year'. Photo / NZME

Trees are mostly to blame for a recent spate of power outages in the Whanganui suburb of Bastia Hill, Powerco says.

There had been an increase in faults on its Bastia Hill feeder which supplied power to customers in the area, a spokesperson for the electricity distribution company said.

“Towards the end of last year, there were five faults caused by vegetation – the majority caused by trees or branches outside the regulatory clearance zone," they said.

“In the financial year prior, there was one fault on this feeder.”

The latest Bastia Hill outage occurred on January 15.

The spokesperson said multiple fault dates aligned with severe weather events that affected the network.

A feeder is a line that carries electricity from a substation to different parts of the network, and a regulatory clearance zone is the minimum legally required space that must be kept between trees or any vegetation and electricity lines.

According to the Powerco website, the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 legally require property owners to keep trees a minimum safe distance away from overhead lines.

“If your tree grows too close, you must get it trimmed by an approved contractor.

“We monitor trees growing close to our power lines and send cut or trim notices to tree owners.”

Property owners who did not act on a notice within the timeframe given could be fined up to $10,000 and a further $500 a day until the work was done, Powerco said.

“You may also be liable for costs associated with damaged power lines or equipment caused by your tree.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.