Whenever an extreme weather event hits the country, power supply could be one of the things affected. So what do you do if the lights go out at your place?

If other houses in your street are out, there’s a good chance someone will be working on the problem already. If you have mobile internet and some charge left on your laptop or phone, you may be able to check the status of faults in your area on your network company’s website. We’ve included a handy list of links to network company outage pages at the end of this post.

Some network companies (e.g. Vector, Electra and Wellington Electricity) also have outage apps available for download.

If you need to report a fault, here’s how to find out who to call. Log into your online account and click on ‘Contact Us’, or on your Powershop app, open the menu and tap ‘Contact Us’. The number you need is listed under ‘Faults and outages’.

If your network company is Wellington Electricity, Powerco, OtagoNet, Electricity Ashburton, Horizon, Westpower or Aurora, you can call us on 0800 462 668 and select ‘1’ for faults. Otherwise you’ll need to contact the network company directly.

Keep yourself safe
Keep yourself and others well clear of any electrical lines and wires – even if your power is out, you should treat all lines and wires as if they’re live and dangerous.

Switch off appliances at the wall
If your power goes off it’s a good idea to switch off all electrical appliances at the wall. It’s especially important to make sure hazardous appliances (e.g. heaters and ovens) or sensitive electronic equipment (e.g. computers) are turned off or unplugged at wall, to reduce the risk of fire, or damage to equipment if there is an electricity surge when the supply is restored. Just leave a light or two on so you know when the power has come back on.

Network company outage pages

Far North
Top Energy

 Northland
North Power

Auckland
Vector

Counties
Counties Power

Hamilton and Northwest Waikato
WEL Networks

Waipa
Waipa Networks

Rotorua and Taupo
Unison

South Waikato
Powerco

Eastern Bay of Plenty
Horizon Energy

Coromandel, Thames, Tauranga
Powerco

Gisborne and East Coast
Eastland Energy

Hawke’s Bay
Unison

Taranaki, Manawatu, Wanganui and Wairarapa
Powerco

Kapiti and Horowhenua
Electra

Wellington
Wellington Electricity

Tasman
Network Tasman

Nelson
Nelson Electricity

Marlborough
Marlborough Lines

West Coast
Westpower

North Canterbury & Kaiapoi
Mainpower

Christchurch and Central Canterbury
Orion

Mid Canterbury
Electricity Ashburton

South Canterbury
Alpine Energy

North Otago
Network Waitaki

South East Otago
PowerNet/Otago Power

Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown
Aurora

Invercargill
PowerNet/Electricity Invercargill

Southland
PowerNet/The Power Company