A power outage has occurred in the rural community of Te Puna on Tauranga’s city fringe, cutting off a further 613 properties from the grid.

Powerco, the electricity and gas distribution company for the Bay of Plenty, recorded an unplanned outage affecting the area at 11.43am.

It is not yet known what caused the outage or when power will be restored.

A field crew is being sent to assess the outage and undergo a site investigation.

Storm damage

Crews are working to restore power in Western Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula and eastern and southern Waikato following the storm event on Wednesday night.

In a statement on its website, Powerco said it would continue to be out in force today, making repairs and restoring power where it’s safe to do so.

“As at 9.30am today, around 1500 customers remain without power, down from 5700 at 4pm yesterday.

“The vast majority of those customers still affected are along the stretch of the Kaimai Range, between Tirohia and Tīrau, with trees through lines and poles being the main cause of damage there.”

Customer and animal welfare

People concerned about medication that needs refrigeration were urged to contact their local pharmacy for advice.

“If you’re concerned about your personal wellbeing, call 111.

“For animal welfare, please contact your vet in the first instance or your local council.”

How to stay safe

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

Downed lines should always be treated as live.

Repairing electricity assets

While Powerco owns and maintains the network of lines and cables that bring electricity to your property’s boundary, and make repairs to that, residents own and were responsible for the overhead service line or underground cable that brings power from the network to their property.

“You also own and maintain the electrical wiring inside your house.

“Please contact a registered electrician to carry out repairs to your overhead service line or underground cable, as well as wiring inside your house.”