Power restored to SH5 communities
Power has been restored to communities in Te Pohue, Te Haroto and Tarawera along State Highway 5 using generators to supply electricity, following damage to its network caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, Unison says.
Moteo has also been restored today, Unison said in a statement today.
“Generation to these isolated communities is a significant achievement for Unison crews after overcoming major access challenges and undertaking complex repairs to reconnect households in these isolated areas.”
Unison’s Incident Controller and GM for Commercial Jason Larkin says: “We understand how hard it has been for these communities to be without power for such a long time.”
“Once again our crews have faced unique and significant challenges given the remote location and limited access to the site, along with extensive damage our network. In this instance a generator from the Southern Island had to be transported to the site via Taupō.
“We are as committed today as ever to throwing all our resources at this challenging response, pulling every stop and thinking outside the square to reconnect and restore power for these customers as quickly as possible.”
Unison says it continues to meet with rural communities to explore possible solutions, including generation, and develop restoration plans that meet their needs.
“Unison met with communities from South Puketapu, Te Pohue and Te Haroto yesterday, and will meet with Esk Valley community members tomorrow afternoon. Work is underway to restore Upper Dartmoor, with Unison hoping to have most households there connected from this evening. “
Restoration plans and details of rural community meetings can be found at www.unison.co.nz.
Unison says that as at 4pm today, Unison is providing generation to 781 households that are unable to be reconnected to the network due to extensive cyclone damage, to meet their essential welfare needs.
Unison says it is also working with owners of flood damaged properties that have not been red stickered, to electrically inspect and reconnect these when safe to do so.
“This is a huge task in itself, with around one thousand known flood damaged properties. Crews working with electrical contractors are going street by street, door to door,” says Larkin.
Unison continues working to restore power in hard hit urban areas, including Awatoto where its network was heavily damaged.
“Given the flood damage and contamination in areas like Awatoto, work to safely inspect, clean, and repair our substation and network assets will take some time,” says Larkin.
“We’re intensely aware of the impact having no or limited power has on the livelihoods of businesses. We’re engaging with the local business community and councils and are poised to undertake the necessary inspections, decontamination and repair of our distribution assets and substation as soon as environmental testing confirms we can safely undertake this work.
“Every reconnection is another step closer to achieving 100% restoration for Hawke’s Bay. I want to reiterate just how grateful and thankful we are to our communities for their continued patience and support. Our teams and crews remain focused and are working at pace to get the lights fully on.”
As at 4.00pm today, 1,171 customers power remain without power in the region, mostly in isolated rural areas.
