Plan ahead for Power Outages

Power Outages might be planned by PowerNet for necessary maintenance, or can be caused by weather events and emergency situations.

Regardless of the cause, it’s important you and your household have a plan for what you’ll do to get through a power outage; especially if you or a member of your household are medically dependent on electricity.

Your Emergency Kit should include items that can help during outages, like:

• extra blankets or warm clothes
• a torch with spare batteries
• battery-operated radio
• outdoor barbecue or another cooking source
• bottled water and long-life foods (don’t forget your pets!)
• a powerbank to charge mobile phones and other devices

The GetReady website has lots of great information on how to prepare for lots of different emergencies, including power outages.

If you’re a farmer, or live rurally, check out Dairy NZ’s tips for getting set up for outages, including tips on choosing the right generator for your farm, and guides for business planning, missed milkings, and how to get additional support for crisis and adverse events.

Are you medically dependent on power?

Before outages happen, it’s important you let your electricity retailer know in advance (who you pay your power bill to).

Work with your doctor or health practitioner to make an emergency response plan which includes what you should do if your power goes out.

If you are medically dependent on electricity and experience an outage, don’t wait for the power to be restored.

• Follow your emergency plan.
• Call 111 if there is a medical emergency.

If you would like to know more about the Security of Supply of the Networks managed by PowerNet, it is available through the following link:

• PowerNet Ltd Security of Supply Participant Outage Plan Standard (PDF)