Vector cautions customers to be prepared for outages following forecasts of heavy rain and strong, gusty winds this weekend. The eastern areas of Vector’s network are expected to be the most affected including Wellsford, Warkworth, East Coast Bays, Whangaparaoa, Clevedon Coast, and Waiheke, although other areas could also be affected.

Stormy weather can have a significant impact on the network with trees and falling debris getting into the lines causing outages. 

Extra field crews have been rostered on over the weekend and all efforts will be made to respond to any outages as soon as possible though increased volumes of work do cause some delays.

Vector recommends that customers always be prepared for the possibility of an outage during severe weather conditions.

Vector wants the opportunity to remind people than in the event of an outage that they should:
• stay well clear of fallen power lines or damaged electrical equipment and treat them as live at all times
• watch out for falling tree branches as these can cause damage to power lines
• avoid possible damage to electrical appliances (in the unlikely event there is a power surge when the power is restored) by switching off appliances at the wall
• keep a torch and spare batteries handy and ensure that you have at least one telephone that does not rely on electricity for operation 
• Ensure that an alternate fuel is always available for cooking (e.g. gas for BBQ)
• People using medical equipment that relies on electricity should always ensure they are prepared for power disruptions and if there is an immediate health threat, contact their health provider or call 111.

The public should be confident that Vector will work hard to restore power as quickly as possible at all times. The safety of the public and Vector’s contracting field staff is of primary importance.
Vector owns and manages electricity networks in the Rodney, Waitakere, North Shore, Auckland, and Manukau districts.

For more information outages go to Vector’s outage centre at www.vector.co.nz