FM Radio, live transmission cut in Auckland amid Sky Tower power fault

Lightning strikes the Sky Tower during a fierce electrical storm in 2020. Photo / Dylan Petch

If you wondered where your FM radio went on your drive home in the Super City tonight, you are not alone.

A power outage at the Sky Tower amid a brewing storm in Auckland cut power to a number of FM radio transmitters.

However, by about 5.30pm a Sky City spokeswoman said power appeared to have been restored to the transmitters.

Newstalk ZB, owned by Herald publisher NZME, was among the stations affected on its FM 89.4 frequency. By 5.25pm it was back on air broadcasting the Summer Evenings programme.

Its evening line-up remained available on 1080AM and streaming on iHeart Radio, along with all other NZME stations.

Other stations affected included RNZ National and RNZ Concert FM. The outage began at about 3.30pm.

A Sky City spokeswoman said an electrical fault was to blame.

“We believe an electrical fault has resulted in a power outage in parts of the Sky Tower where a number of FM radio transmitters are housed,” she said.

“The cause of the outage is still being investigated. The Sky Tower’s restaurants are closed tonight due to adverse weather conditions.”