Full restoration of power to Northland likely by 'tomorrow evening'

Energy Minister Simeon Brown said power is not likely to be fully restored to Northland until "tomorrow evening" at the earliest after the failure of a pylon this morning caused "widespread outages".

Transpower said outages across the Northland region occurred after a tower came down unexpectedly near Glorit - between Wellsford and Kaukapakapa - around 11am. A crew was on site when the tower fell, Transpower confirmed to 1News.

"The tower carries two separate high capacity circuits, carrying most of Northland’s power needs."

It fell while a second transmission circuit supplying these areas was out of service for scheduled maintenance, Transpower said.

"At this stage we do not know what the cause for the tower falling was. There will be a full investigation, but our priority now is restoring power to the region."

Transpower executive general manager of grid delivery Mark Ryall told 1News it can get around 70% of Northland customers back on the grid without having to restore the circuit damaged on the tower that fell.

As a system operator, Transpower has reconfigured the power system to provide power from local sources, including the Ngāwhā geothermal station near Kaikohe.

In a post to social media, Northpower said it was "working hard to find the fault, and we hope that power will be restored soon".

Transpower said a service provider was onsite to assess the damage and determine how long it would take to return the circuit to service.

Top Energy's outage map showed widespread cuts impacting more than 32,000 customers in the Far North.

"Some areas are now running on backup generators. Please conserve power," Top Energy said on its website.

Northpower also reported widespread outages across the greater Maungatapere, Poroti, the greater Whangārei Central, Whangārei Port area, Marsden Point, One Tree Point, Ruakākā, Mata, Waipu, Waipu Cove, and Braigh.

A map on its website showed the extent of the outage.

Vector also reported a number of unplanned outages north of Auckland.

A farmer who leased the land where the pylon fell told 1News he was in bed sick when he heard "a bit of a crash".

"I didn't think a lot of it, but then my daughter came in and said 'we've got no power'," said Shane Hood.

He said he inspected the property by car and found the pylon slumped down in a paddock.

"My first thought was, I hope nobody is up there and luckily there wasn't."

He said there had been people working on the pylon around the time it fell and "thankfully none of [the] livestock were in danger".

The New Zealand Transport Agency said people should consider delaying their journey or expect delays and possible diversions following reports of downed power lines on SH16 in the Glorit area between West Coast Rd and Kaipara Hills Rd.

The outages occurred following a period of heavy rain in which MetService warned residents of the potential for surface flooding and slips.

Transpower is calling on people living in areas from Warkworth northwards who have power to "conserve it until full electricity supply can be restored to the region".

In an update this evening, Transpower said it was able to restore some power to Northland but "it is unable to supply all of the region and will instruct local lines companies to reduce power use on their networks where necessary".

"A time for returning full supply has not yet been determined but it will take until late tomorrow at the very earliest. We will provide an update tomorrow morning when we have further advanced engineering of options.

"People from Warkworth northwards who do have power can help by conserving power, enabling the available supply to go further."

People can save power by turning off heaters and lights in rooms that are not in use, use large appliances sparingly, and charge electric vehicles only as needed.

It said the crew working on the tower before it fell "are safe and unharmed".

"We are grateful for the patience and support of the landowners whose property we are working on.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused and assure those impacted that we are working to restore power to everyone as quickly as possible."

Vector customers in Warkworth, Wellsford, Snells Beach, and Big Omaha have also been asked to ration energy until 9pm "to reduce the likelihood of outages being required", a Vector spokesperson told 1News.

"While we don’t yet know if rolling outages will be necessary, or for how long, if they do occur, they will be temporary, and will occur at different times to ensure that no one is without power for an extended period. We have already communicated directly with customers who may be impacted.

"We recommend customers in the impacted areas charge devices and power banks and keep a torch handy.

"We thank customers for their understanding as Transpower works to repair the damaged tower. "

Whangārei District Council has urged residents to conserve water, warning that "some areas may run out completely".

In a post to its Facebook page, the council said in a statement that the power outage meant the water-supply network was running at a "reduced capacity".

"It is a good idea to fill a bottle and a bucket in case the outage lasts a long time."

Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo told 1News that Northland has "had a few" of these types of events in the last couple of years.

"When the Brynderwyns went out, Cyclone Gabrielle, and today of course when the power line gets dropped."

He said power security was one of the key challenges facing the region, alongside transport and water.

"We've managed to sort [water] out, it's the other two now which we're still waiting for central Government and the agencies to sort out."

Cocurullo said Northland shouldn't have to rely on one power line and that the region needs to "at least have a fault line".

"We've heard about Ngāwhā having the upgrades down there. However, for Northland we need to be looking at generation of power outside of those, maybe ocean generation or wind generation."

Whangārei District Councillor Scott McKenzie shared an image to X, formerly Twitter, of councillors meeting in a "dark and acoustic" room.

Kokopu School near Whangārei asked parents to "please come and pick up your children" at around midday on Thursday.

"School is closing due to no toilets and no power".

Earlier, a school in the Northland town of Kāeo closed for the day following a night of heavy rain in the region.

Kaeo School said it was closed as buses were "unable to run".

"Please stay safe and dry," the post said.

Businesses across the region have also been forced to close or cancel services due to the power outage.

Northland police have urged the community to be patient on the roads and take care at intersections.

"Police are currently managing traffic on the main roads, and at intersections where traffic lights [are out]," a spokesperson said.

"There will be a visible police presence in business areas across the Northland District."

Motorists have been asked to travel "only if necessary" and to avoid the Whangārei CBD area.

Northland Civil Defence earlier warned residents in the Far North to plan ahead if they were travelling through Kāeo, the Waimate North area, Taipa, Mangonui, and State Highway 1 at Larmer Rd in the Kaitāia area.

In an update shortly before 10am, it said "the worst of the rain has now passed for Northland".

The earlier orange heavy rain warning and severe thunderstorm watch have both been lifted.

New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Northland said "due to a multiple large slips and dropouts" a lane is closed on State Highway 1 between Kitchen Rd and Makene Rd through the Mangamuka Gorge.

"Please use SH10 until further notice and allow extra journey time."

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