Southland hit by mass power outage amid lightning and high winds
Severe weather, including high winds and lightning, caused widespread power outages across Otago and Southland, affecting thousands of customers. While major faults have been addressed, some residents remain without power as crews continue repair efforts.
Why it matters
Extreme weather events pose ongoing risks to critical infrastructure and public safety, necessitating robust emergency response and grid resilience.
About 300 customers remain without power in Otago and Southland on Sunday evening after a day of stormy weather and a Transpower fault cut electricity to thousands. Powernet said it hoped at least 150 of those customers back on tonight. The remaining 150 customers are individual faults identified throughout Southland and Otago. Strong winds, lightning strikes and a Transpower outage left approximately 25,000 customers without power around lunchtime on Sunday. An Invercargill resident told the ODT their power blinked off briefly before returning. The Transpower outage was restored after a couple of hours, while crews worked on weather related outages throughout the day.
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