Bird nest pulls plug on Wairarapa power

THERE SHALL BE LIGHT: Rosemarie Cavaney, Joxer Daly's Steak and Ale House owner, was already set with candles lit for a Christmas-themed luncheon when the power went out yesterday. PHOTO/CHERIE TAYLOR

A bird's nest was responsible for a power cut that brought Wairarapa to a standstill for up to three hours yesterday.

Power shut down throughout the district and even as far afield as Upper Hutt at 1pm. It was restored to parts of Greytown and Featherston after an hour and a half, but not to Masterton until nearly 4pm.

The bird's nest caused a small fire at Transpower's Masterton substation.

In Queen St, Masterton, the CBD quickly emptied as people realised Eftpos was down and many shops and banks closed during the outage.

Customers queued at petrol bowsers to fill up their cars' tanks, but some drove off when they realised they wouldn't be able to pay unless they had cash.

But at Joxer Daly's Steak and Ale House, the electricity blackout wasn't a problem - they already had candles lit to add atmosphere to a Christmas-themed luncheon. Owner Rosemarie Cavaney said they had just served the last two of 59 hot lunches when the lights went out.

"It wasn't a problem. In fact it was quite fitting. Only the Christmas tree lights went out."

Diner Linda Campbell said she hardly noticed there wasn't any power.

"It just got a bit dimmer," she said.

At Cafe Anatolia, all the tables were empty as staff waited to find out if they would close the doors for the afternoon.

Manager Ronnie Pradap said the lunch rush was just picking up when the ovens went off.

"We can't cook anything. I hope it's on soon."

Some businesses were coping with the help of back-up generators.

New World duty manager Sarah McLachlan said the outage caused a few equipment problems, but the generator had kicked in and allowed staff to operate as normal with Eftpos.

"It should last until it comes back on," she said. "There will be a bit of a cheer around town when it comes back on."

Countdown shoppers were also able to buy their groceries, albeit in the dark.

The Masterton Public Library went back to its roots, issuing books by hand and writing slips, said manager Sandy Green.

"We'll enter all of the data later."

Staff took the opportunity to catch up on re-shelving books using natural light.

Signal lights at railway level crossings were knocked out and Wairarapa Hospital's power was cut.

Hospital spokeswoman Jill Stringer said there were no problems, however.

"It flicked over seamlessly to the generator."

Transpower corporate communications manager Rebecca Wilson said the bird's nest had blown on to electrical equipment, causing a fire and cutting power to the entire area and Upper Hutt.

"In some areas we get birds building nests on lines; we clear them, but the national grid is a very large network and sometimes it does occur."

She said it took some time to turn the power back on because staff had to check all the equipment was safe before doing so.

It also had to be done gradually because of the volume of power that needed to be restored, she said.