Hundreds of homes without power in Gate Pa, Tauranga

Power is out to 524 properties in Gate Pa. Photo/File

Power is out to hundreds of properties in Tauranga.

Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh said a fault in a substation cut supply to about 700 Powerco customers in Tauranga.

Marsh said the power cut happened about 11.30am and 440 customers in Gate Pa and Tauranga South were affected.

"These include a number of major clients and we apologise for the loss of supply," he said.

"We are still trying to determine what caused the outage and are working to restore supply."

Tauranga businesses have also been affected by the power outage too, with lights out in businesses on Wharf St, Grey St and Willow St.

Power went off in the middle of beauty treatments at Tranquillo Beauty Clinic on Grey St.

Owner Sue Dewes said the power outage had caused "quite a disturbance" with the beauty clinic having to finish treatments by candlelight.

Dewes said the beauty clinic had to reschedule about half a dozen clients and three treatments were being performed at the time lights went out.

"Thankfully we have emergency torches but that was because we were trying to get our clients out safely," she said.

"This had really impacted us, we have been ringing our clients to reschedule because time is precious for them as well."

Dewes said the beauty clinic had to end their training session early because students could not use any of the machines.

Books A Plenty owner Chris Baskett said power went out in their Grey St store about 11.30am in the middle of serving customers.

"It just means we can't look anything up on the computers for people and we can only take cash," she said.

Baskett said the shop was dark but they were still serving customers.

"We have no air conditioning so if it gets any hotter in here we will have to shut the doors," she said.

The Importer on Grey St was also left in the dark.

Employee Casey Zelman said the power was already off when she arrived to work and her colleagues were waiting outside the shop for power to come back on.

"We are just hanging out," she said.