Power cut causes disruption in Rotorua

ROTORUA - A power blackout in Rotorua caused disruptions for thousands of central city workers, shoppers and drivers yesterday.

Computers and phones cut out and cafes, shops and offices were left in darkness for five minutes about 1.30pm. There were delays for drivers when traffic lights went out at the intersections of Amohau and Ranolf Sts and Sala St and Te Ngae Rd.

Adam Harlick, service manager of Concord Technologies, which is responsible for traffic lights maintenance, said the lights were only out for the length of the power cut.

Unison's customer relations manager Bill Hewitt said the power cut was caused by a switching problem at Transpower's Malfroy Power Substation and 5016 customers were affected.

The Fenton St branch of the BNZ had to close for about seven minutes for security reasons but the bank's area manager, Phil Barnett, said there were only about six customers in the bank at the time.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)