Vector still working to restore power to about 5000 Aucklanders

Vector is still working to restore power to about 5000 Aucklanders after hurricane force winds hit the city.

Branches heavy enough to crush cars and buildings, roofing iron ripped off and blown at speeds faster than the limit on our open roads are some of what the network of powerlines and powerpoles across Auckland faced on Tuesday night.

Winds that hit Auckland gusted over 200km/h.

WeatherWatch said energy companies were given a heads-up, "but there isn't much you can do ahead of forecast severe wind event other than prepare your staff for the repairs and clean-up".

Vector chief executive Simon MacKenzie told WeatherWatch the job ahead for Vector was a big one with a massive number of trees down, powerlines down and people to reconnect.

"It's fairly straightforward. Priority is given to outages in areas near hospitals first. Then it's water pumping stations, traffic lights, central business areas and other key infrastructure points.

"This is why some suburbs have had power restored while one street over may not. So if you live near a hospital your power will return the fastest, basically."

Vector has been flying helicopters over the region to speed up finding problem areas such as places where trees are down.

MacKenzie said while it could be incredibly frustrating to not have electricity, this was the reality of winds this strong.

"In our view the massive power outages are not as a result of poor infrastructure, rather the winds were simply at a level that trees cannot stay upright without breaking or blowing over."

He said underground cabling was becoming more common and that minimises cuts - but it all costs to do that.

Other first world cities like New York and Toronto have the exact same problems when the weather turns extra nasty, WeatherWatch said.

"In tough conditions the crew at Vector are doing a remarkable job this week. There will be a smaller group of people who may still have days to go before being reconnected."

Vector spokesman Iain Butler said more poor weather last night saw some new trees come down across parts of the North Shore and South and West Auckland, creating new outages.

"We also had overloading affect a substation in Henderson/Swanson as large loads were being brought back onto the network, impacting customers in parts of West Auckland, but was fully restored by 9.30pm."

The affected areas from the new outages overnight were largely restored now.

Butler said numbers without power were still extremely fluid, due to the new outages and ongoing restorations.

"Overall, progress is still expected to continue as outlined yesterday, with the backbone of the network nearly fully restored, and individual pockets of homes, and those without hot water, being progressively restored into the middle of next week."

Exact numbers of houses without power would be provided later in the day, he said.