Nearly 100000 lose power after high voltage issue in Northland

Thousands of people across Northland are without power after a Transpower tower fell south of Wellsford this morning.

A Transpower spokesperson said the incident happened around 11am. The tower fell while a second transmission circuit supplying these areas was out of service for scheduled maintenance.

Northpower spokeswoman Rachel Wansbone said close to about 100,000 people are affected.

Whangarei District Council advised people to conserve water as much as possible as following the power outage the water-supply network is operating at a reduced capacity.

The owner of Village Cafe in Kerikeri, Abby Semb said she had to close the cafe after she heard the power was going to be out most of the day.

“It’s frustrating. I’ve got an oven full of half-cooked food for a catering job. As long as we get power later today, I won’t lose all my stock.”

Cafe Jerusalem is also having to turn away customers. Front of House staffer Michaela Surovcova said staff were waiting for the manager and cleaning to keep busy.

Jarred Meehan from Churchill Butchers and his team were serving customers in the dark with mobile eftpos.

He was waiting on a generator thinking “We’ll be up and running again.” However, they cannot use the machines with the generator and said “So some of the boys will be going home.”

Yini Lan from Kerikeri Lunchbox Bakery said customers are transferring money online or writing their names and phone numbers in her book and returning later to pay.

So far she’s filled three pages of IOUs.

“This is how I deal with it. I’m definitely affected but I’ve been here quite long so I know the majority of customers. It’s better to feed them,” Lan said.

At Whangārei Cafe Hello Pickle, workers Fynlee Connew and Ash Tadman are doing a deep clean with head torches on, as well as serving customers.

Owner Jess Loftus said customers are paying with cash or bank transfer, while some regulars have been given a loan to pay back the next time they come in.

Loftus said she is trying to make the most of a situation she can’t control.

”It’s cool to see the community banding together. I could see people helping the elderly cross the street … everyone is driving so courteously and so aware, imagine if we operated like this all the time,” she said.Loftus said the loss of trade is “a bit stressful” but the cafe is well supported by regular customers.

”We felt that through Cyclone Gabrielle and Covid, through times of unexpected spot problems, it’s nice to see everyone coming together.”

Whangārei District Council said the major power outage affected many public services including traffic lights which had shut down.

“If you are driving, use normal give-way rules at intersections. There is also extra congestion, please take your time and be safe.”

At the intersection of Walton St and Cameron St police Detective Sergeant Dave Whitecliff-Davies was seen controlling traffic.

Mayor Vince Cocurrullo commented on his social media post that 220 Tower was out and Transpower was currently restoring power through the 110 Power Supply System.

Meanwhile, the power outage has thrown today’s Whangārei District Council meeting into darkness.

The council’s 11 am community development committee meeting, chaired by CR Carol Peters, had just kicked off when the council chambers were thrown into darkness as lights, air conditioning and Te Iwitahi’s council chamber’s electronic sound system cut out at 11.03am.

The meeting continued, considering community funding grants allocation, community safety and more.

CR Ken Couper ended the meeting with his words “Guide us all safely home, especially with the power out.”

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said the region was vulnerable when these events happened.

“People are really concerned about what’s happening. I think we’re pretty hard-bitten when things like this happen that we don’t expect.”

He hoped there wouldn’t be too much impact on businesses in the district and those in rural areas.

”Let’s hope the cowsheds can continue operating this afternoon,” Jepson said.

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said the widespread outage showed the importance of “ensuring our connectivity is resilient.”

“Hopefully we can get that transmission line is back up and join us back up to the main grid. It’s not good enough for our entire region to be dependent on a single line.

“Especially when our power prices in this region are the highest in the country.”

Tepania advised residents to conserve water and limit flushing the toilet, as many were on tank water. He also suggested having torches and candles handy in case the outage lasts into the night. “Hopefully that won’t be required.”

Some early childhood centres and schools across Northland were asking students to be picked up as the outage continues to impact toilet usage and phone lines.

Whangārei Girls’ High School have asked parents to collect their children and busses are being organised early. Open Spaces Preschool in Whangārei has been forced to close as they cannot maintain a temperature within the centre and there is no running water.

Parents and caregivers should check school and ECE Facebook pages, and websites or call if they are unsure of closures.

Staff at Paknsave Whangārei could not comment on the outage but when the Advocate visited, it looked like business as usual with a few trolleys filled up with drinking water.

Animates staff were also left in the darkness after a power outage.

Animates Whangārei staff first experienced the outage at 11am this morning as acting manager Ashaia Muriwai was serving a customer.

As they went to pay the power went out, she said.

Cash-only sales were continuing however customers were not allowed in the store due to health and safety. Staff were in good spirits when the Advocate visited thanks to the company of Muriwai’s dog, Athena.

Generators have kicked in at Whangārei, Dargaville, Bay of Islands and Kaitāia Hospitals, Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau spokeswoman Liz Inch said.

Northpower said the outage wasn’t related to the heavy rain since last night which hit Far North the hardest.

A heavy rain warning was lifted for Northland this morning after the region was hit with heavy rain overnight.

Meteorologist John Law said Far North areas were some of the worst hit last night with Karikari receiving 127mm of rain, Kaeo 109mm and Kerikeri 64mm from 8pm to 8am overnight.

More to come