State-owned grid operator Transpower said it had continued to increase the amount of power available to local lines companies in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Local lines company Unison Networks had advised there were 40,800 homes without power in Hawke’s Bay, with 31,700 of these in Napier - the area most impacted by the loss of Transpower’s flooded Redclyffe substation.
Transpower said it had implemented contingency plans and reconfigured part of the network to make 90 megawatts of power available to Unison Networks and Eastland Network across the region to reconnect some houses and businesses.
An initial assessment of the Redclyffe substation - near Taradale - indicated that there was extensive damage after flood waters reached heights exceeding 1.5 metres inside the control room, Transpower said.
Given the extensive damage to the substation, Transpower’s focus was on creating a bypass for its 220 kilovolt line to enable it to connect to the Whakatu substation northeast of Hastings.