North Canterbury lines company MainPower is reminding everyone in storm-affected regions that all power lines should be treated as live at all times.
Acting Chief Executive Damien Whiffen says the company is getting reports of lines down due to trees and wind.
“While we’re getting as many of our guys on the road as quickly as we can, we can only send crews out when it’s safe to do so. We have teams out scoping the faults and making safe, but it may be some time before we are able to repair all downed lines.
“Until we do, members of the public must treat all downed lines as live at all times. Power can be restored at any time – or may be still on even if lines are down. Stay at least 20 metres away from lines at all times and call our 0800 number if you come across them.”
MainPower is experiencing wide ranging outages across the network due to the wind event currently in play. More than 6,200 customers are currently without power, and the lines company is asking people to be prepared to be without power for extended periods.
“We have a large and diverse network in some very rural areas, including Hanmer Springs and around the Culverden basin, which have been particularly hard hit by today’s weather.
“We have boots on the ground across the network and will be making repairs as quickly as possible, but it may be tomorrow until it’s safe to really get stuck in and get large teams and equipment working on things like pole replacements, transformer, insulator and conductor repairs.”
The company has stood up its Emergency Operations Centre and staff are focussed on directing resource to areas that are hardest hit, including Hanmer Springs, Culverden, Oxford and the Hawarden area.
“We’re concentrating on the main trunk lines in the first place to ensure that main supply is capable and safe before further livening takes place,” Wiffen says. “We have as many people out now as we can, and we’re cracking on now that the winds have calmed a wee bit. But again, people should treat all power as live at all times. Your power at home or work may be restored at any time.
“To put this into perspective, we have more than 45,000 customers across the Waimakariri, Hurunui and Kaikōura areas – an area of more than 11,000 square kilometres. We currently have faults affecting 8,841 individual connection points. And we have 73 field staff – and they’re all very busy!”
Whiffen says once the storm weather has moved on and the country has a better idea of the situation, MainPower will be working with other Electricity Distribution Businesses (EDBs) to allocate resources and expedite repairs.
