Vector : Storm Update; Friday 5th PM

Vector's crews have been responding to a number of incidents on the electricity network overnight. Impacts increased during the evening continued overnight, with half of those still outstanding occurring since midnight. Most outages have been seen in rural areas, north of Auckland city, including a small number of single supply outages on Kawau Island.

Many of these have been caused by vegetation, typically wind blowing tree branches onto power lines. With the situation still very active, the number of customers affected by outages can change rapidly as restoration work is completed, supply is back-filled, or as new incidents occur.

Vector's storm response is continuing this morning. We have recalled crews from leave where possible and have cancelled all planned overhead work and reassigned crews to storm response activity.

The safety of our crews and the public is our first priority. With the strong winds continuing today, we continue to ask for patience as our crews assess conditions for site safety, repair and re-livening work in conjunction with fatigue management plans.

It's important to stay well clear of any downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment. Treat power lines as live at all times. People using medical equipment that rely on electricity should let their retailer know and ensure they are prepared for power disruptions. If there is an immediate health threat, they should contact their health provider or call 111. Vector is encouraging people to keep updated via their outage app or vector.co.nz/outages.