Name: Powershop
Brand: Powershop
Rating: 4.9 (74 reviews)

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.