In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, we want to thank the Far North community for your resilience and patience.
It was an incredibly challenging time for all of us. Your encouragement and support really lifted the spirits of our hard-working crews and operations teams.
Thank you!
RESTORING POWER
During a storm event with multiple outages, we are committed to restoring power to every household and business as quickly and as safely as we can.
Our top priority is critical infrastructure such as hospitals, airports, water treatment plants and sewage plants. Next are repairs to main lines and network equipment, so we can restore power for as many customers as we can at once. This is followed by transformers and smaller lines for outages affecting individuals.
More remote and rural areas can be challenging and take longer to restore, especially in bad weather.
A separate crew manages these outage assessment and repair works.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE PREPARED
Extreme weather events are likely to increase due to climate change. So, we recommend you get prepared when you know storms and
cyclones are on their way:
• If you have power-dependent medical devices, contact your provider to make a plan.
• Keep a rechargeable torch and power bank handy to keep your mobiles and tablets charged.
• Store drinking water and keep a container of water around the house for flushing toilets if on tank water.
• Keep BBQ gas cylinders and petrol tanks full as pumps and EFTPOS won’t work if the power goes off.
• Wrap freezers in duvets, blankets, or some form of insulation if possible.
• Consider getting a generator.
• Sign up for power outage notifications at www.outages.topenergy.co.nz/#subscribe
TRIMMING TREES
The major causes of power outages during bad weather are trees and branches falling onto powerlines. But you can help by trimming the trees on your property.
You can trim your trees if the tools and machinery you are using, and any part of the tree, are more than 4m from power lines – including lines on your property. Once trees are inside this zone, only a qualified professional can do the work.
If your trees are already too close to power lines, please call us. We will first assess the urgency and can then come out and give you a quote. You may even qualify for a free first cut if we haven't been to your property before.
Remember to plant trees well away from power lines.
For further advice, call Top Energy and ask to speak to our vegetation team.