Many people who have been without power since Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through on Monday are expected to have their supply restored today.

As of 11.30am today, 698 people are still without power in the Bay of Plenty, while 6883 are powerless in the Coromandel.

A total of 12,601 people are without power across Powerco's entire network in the North Island.

To date, crews' efforts have been hampered by access issues (slip and flooding) and hazardous conditions such as high winds, but Powerco Head of Network Operations Caz Haydon says with the storm moving away from the North Island, these barriers should be less of an issue.

'Our crews are out in force today, making the most of gaps in the weather. Faults are decreasing, with our focus on restoring power to the larger outages, which are being assessed for restoration and repair across all regions as a priority. We are also prioritising those who have been without power for the longest.

'As the day progresses, we'll be able to provide more certainty over restoration timeframes for our customers – we encourage those without power to keep an eye on our outage map for updates.”

Helicopter patrols will be used to assist restoration today, including assessing faults in Taranaki, Tinui and Tairua – the latter of which accounts to around 6000 of customers currently without power.

A drone will also be used in the Eastern region to assess remote lines.

Caz says the safety of crews continues to be a priority for Powerco.

Two crews trapped in the Wairarapa overnight, who were isolated by a slip and a flooding, are being flown out today.

'Our restoration efforts continued until late evening on Tuesday, but it's important our crews are well rested before they tackle more restorations today. As such, we've stood a few down for the morning to rest but they will be available later today, reconnecting remaining customers as quickly and safely as possible.

'Once again, our deepest thanks and appreciation to our customers for their understanding and patience.”

Regions without power:

• Coromandel – 6883 customers
• Taranaki – 1654 customers
• South Waikato – 1223 customers
• Wairarapa – 905 customers
• Bay of Plenty – 698 customers
• Whanganui – 783 customers
• Manawatū – 451 customers

Powerco will provide more information in its next update, scheduled for 4.30pm.