Powerco has crews across its electricity network ready to respond to any outages, with strong winds and heavy rain forecast from mid-morning Thursday and into Friday.

Intense north-northeasterly winds are predicted across the North Island, with the strongest winds likely about South Taranaki and into Whanganui.

Heavy rain is also expected across the North Island during Thursday and Friday, with rain and thunderstorms likely for Coromandel, Hauraki, Matamata-Piako and western Bay of Plenty, as well as Taranaki and inland Whanganui.

Powerco head of network operations, Caz Haydon, reminds customers in the affected areas to secure any outdoor furniture and prepare for the possibility of power outages.

“Gale force winds can cause trees and other flying debris to bring down power lines, cutting supply. The north-northeasterly wind gusts predicted are not the usual prevailing wind direction.

This means there’s more likelihood of trees being uprooted and potentially landing on power lines.

“The heavy downfalls could also cause flooding and slips – both of which could make it difficult for our crews to access faults and get power restored.

So, I thank any affected customers in advance for their patience and understanding.

Be assured, we will be there to fix any weather-related faults as quickly and safely as we can, depending on the conditions,” she says.

How customers can stay safe

If people see downed power lines, it’s important to:

• Stay at least 10m away from the lines and poles - that's about the length of a bus.
• Call 111 immediately or Powerco's emergency number, 0800 27 27 27.
• Downed lines should always be treated as live.

We respond 24/7 to lines down incidents on our electricity network. Learn more about what to do in an emergency here: powerco.co.nz/safety/electricity-emergency

How customers can prepare

Powerco asks customers to please secure trampolines and any outdoor furniture or equipment that can potentially be blown into overhead lines in high winds and cause outages.

It also recommends that customers prepare for a potential outage by charging devices (laptops and phones) or having power banks ready, along with torches and topping up BBQ gas bottles if available.

More tips on preparing for a power outage are available on Powerco’s website here: powerco.co.nz/outages/being-prepared-for-a-power-outage

What to do in the event of an outage

If customers do experience an outage, they’re advised to report their outage by:

• Contacting their retailer (the company they pay their power bill to), or
• Using the report an outage form on Powerco’s website here: powerco.co.nz/outages/report-an-outage

Customers can also check for outages on Powerco’s outage map here: outages.powerco.co.nz

Powerco is New Zealand’s second largest electricity and gas distribution utility with over 900,000 customers (across 457,000 connections) connected to its networks.

Powerco’s electricity networks are in Western Bay of Plenty, Thames, Coromandel, Eastern and Southern Waikato, Taranaki, Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Manawatū and the Wairarapa. Its gas pipeline networks are in Taranaki, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatū and Hawke’s Bay.