Nearly 8,000 properties in Southland and Otago remain without power this weekend - and the local lines company is warning residents it could still be several days with the lights off. The severe weather last week and through the weekend downed trees, and power poles - throughout the country - but worst hit appears to be Southland and Otago. Powernet in Southland says some people will need to wait several days before the power comes back on.
In April lines companies were given more powers to remove trees that are within 'fall zone' of the lines, and prevent plantings around power lines - but they don't take effect until 2027. Until then they can only prune trees back from lines. Electricity Networks Aotearoa chief executive, Tracey Kai, says until those risky trees can be removed, there will more and longer outages than there need to be following storms.
A crushed electricity transformer lies under a tree. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
