Source: Radio New Zealand
Last week’s storm caused the most damage to the network since Cyclone Gabrielle, PowerCo says. Supplied / Caleb Gordon
More than 200 people in the lower North Island are still without power, a week after the destructive storm hit the region.
Powerco said most of those still cut off were in the Whanganui-Rangitīkei region.
Head of network operations Mark Dunn said the storm had caused the most damage to the network since Cyclone Gabrielle.
More than 500 lines were brought down, he said.
The amount of tree damage caused by the storm in remote forestry blocks had meant it was taking time to restore supply.
“We understand how frustrating it is to be without power and thank people for their patience and the resilience they were required to call on.”
Dunn said the company had been working closely with emergency management and the Red Cross to support affected customers.
Helicopters were used over the weekend to access hard-to-reach areas and string lines to remote parts of Wairarapa and Whanganui-Rangitīkei, to assist crews where ground access was limited.
He said Powerco crews had attended 1689 jobs since the storm and 250 field staff were involved.
Crews had come from Taranaki, Hamilton, Matamata, Tauranga and Dannevirke.
Meanwhile in Wellington, 60 customers were still without power on Tuesday.
Wellington Electricity said it expected to have less than 10 customers to reconnect tomorrow.
On Monday Wellingtonians who had previously been without power for days raised questions about whether the company should compensate households hit by the powerful storm.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
