The number of people who remain without power throughout Otago and Southland is now close to 3,000 in total – 1,900 in Southland and 1,120 in South Otago.

Chief Executive Paul Blue said work on restoration continues with more customers coming back on every day, but there are still some areas with significant damage that have yet to be restored.

“We are now getting into the really challenging portion of this work, where there is substantial damage that takes a lot of resources to fix but only restores power for a small number of customers.

“This means we can expect our numbers of people without power to drop more slowly and some of those without power may still be waiting for several days.”

More than 400 Southland and South Otago customers have submitted their individual property fault forms online, which is helping progress the plan for restoring power to all.

There can be a range of reasons why people still have no power, but as we assess the lists of affected properties, we may find the feeder providing the property is live but your place remains without power.

In these cases, we may try and call customers to gather more information to help get power back on.

Mr Blue is reassuring customers that this phone call is legitimate and necessary.

“Please rest assured we will only be asking specific questions about your power and will not be asking for any financial information, passwords or other personal details.”

Meanwhile, we cannot reiterate enough that the public should not touch trees or debris which are near or on power lines because the lines could still be live.

Please wait for crews to visit the property to make the site safe and to restore the power. Always assume downed power lines are live.

Note: Customers who are without power when their surrounding area has been restored should complete the individual fault form on the PowerNet website www.powernet.co.nz. This is the quickest and most efficient way to get your fault logged.

Customers who are unable to access the online form can still call 0800 808 587, however there will be a long delay in answering due to high call volumes.

It’s extremely important our call centre remains available for emergency situations where there is an immediate danger.

By the Numbers as at 4pm 31/10

The Power Company Limited network (Southland)
Total Customers: 38,200
Customers without power: 1,900

OtagoNet network (South Otago)
Total Customers: 15,700
Customers without power: 1,120

Please note these numbers will change as we undertake repairs and identify faults on the network.