Stormy conditions caused mass power outages across Whanganui on Monday night. Photo/ Bevan Conley
A helicopter is being used to restore power to homes in Parikino near Whanganui.
More than 3000 Whanganui homes lost power on Monday night due to a sudden dumping of rain and 80km/h wind speeds.
The power has remained out for 25 homes in Parakino since 7.45pm on Monday after trees in a forestry plantation fell on the lines.
Field crews were forced to stop working on repairing the lines as darkness and windy conditions made it too dangerous to continue.
Powerco head of network operations Caz Haydon said while the damage was found on Tuesday morning, it was unsafe for a helicopter to fly in the continuing strong winds.
“The lines have been brought down in a remote area where access is challenging. A helicopter is the most effective way to restring the lines in situations like this.”
Affected customers were contacted by Powerco on Tuesday and warned the power would remain off overnight.
Weather permitting, power in the area is expected to be restored by late Wednesday.
Haydon said she’d like to thank the people affected by this outage for their patience and understanding.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
Comment: Planting a range of trees will give fruit at different times of the year.