Aurora Energy making good progress but some customers will be without power until Saturday

Lines company Aurora Energy has prioritised repairs to their high voltage network as restoring this brings power back to the largest number of customers, however the scale of repairs needed across their Dunedin network from Berwick to the tip of the Otago Peninsula has stretched crews far and wide.

“I have never seen Dunedin with this volume of separate fault calls,” said Matt Settle, Aurora Energy General Manager Future Network and Operations. “Today, we’ve continued to assess the damage and make repairs. During this work, crews have come across additional faults across the network that also need attention.

“To give you a sense of scale of the damage, in addition to the high voltage faults that crews are working on, Aurora Energy has received more than 140 single premise or low voltage faults across Dunedin. These are being triaged and prioritised so crews can focus on the most urgent issues once the high voltage network is stabilised,” he said.

Fault crews have been out since first light this morning, supported by additional teams brought in yesterday from other contractors to assist with fault repairs and vegetation clearance. These teams will continue working into the weekend.

“Our goal is to complete repairs to the high voltage network by the end of today,” said Matt. But despite our best efforts, some customers will remain without power until tomorrow. We know this isn't the news people want to hear. As at 2:45pm today, we’ve reduced the number of impacted customers from around 16,000 at the peak yesterday to just over 1,300, and we still expect to see that number drop by the end of the day,” Matt said.

Aurora Energy’s fault crews will continue to work into the long weekend to ensure remaining outages are resolved on Saturday.

It’s a timely reminder to check on neighbours who may still be without power, especially those who may need help with food storage or charging devices. If you know someone who is medically dependent, please ensure they have activated their emergency plan.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive messages from customers acknowledging the difficult conditions and long hours our crews are facing,” said Matt. “We’re incredibly grateful for your support and patience.”

Safety information:

• Charge your phone and have power banks ready
• Keep torches handy
• If the power is out, switch off appliances at the wall to avoid possible damage when power is restored
• Stay well clear of damaged power lines and treat them as live at all times. To report downed lines or trees in power lines call Aurora Energy on 0800 22 00 05

More information about preparing for and staying safe during power outages is available on Aurora Energy’s website: Aurora Energy power outages

ENDS