• Check your address on our outages page or report an outage by calling us on 0800 10 4040. 

• Read more tips here on what to do during an outage.  

We provide estimated outage durations on our outage page.  The time it takes to restore your supply depends on the cause of the outage and the complexity of the repair. 

Safety of our people is our highest priority. Our teams work as quickly as they can and as safely as possible. During severe weather and storms, damage can be significant making the repair complex.  

As well as this, storms, flooding, landslides and high wind can make it difficult for our teams to work at heights or access sites or affected areas to start the repair work. 

We work as safely as possible to restore power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest time possible. 

We restore power in the following order: 

1. We prioritise repairs to our main lines (high voltage lines), and equipment (substations) to restore the most power for as many customers at once.  

1. We restore individual transformers and smaller lines (low voltage lines) to individual homes and businesses. It is important to note that we are unable to fix an individual problem until the main lines and equipment are fixed and power is restored. 

If your power remains off after power is restored to your neighbourhood, there may be a further issue. Call us on 0800 10 40 40 to discuss  

During large outage events where there is widespread damage, it may take us a few days to physically assess damage and restore power. We will have extra resource available to manage the assessment and repair works. If a Northpower truck leaves your neighbourhood before your power is back on, please know that we will be back.  

Call us on 0800 10 40 40. 

If the outage page does not show your outage, and you have not already called us, call us on 0800 10 40 40. 

This could be for several reasons:

• Your outage has not been reported yet. 
• Your outage is not due to an issue on our network, for example, it’s a private service line issue.
• Indicated areas on the map are approximate. 

In some cases, faults can be complex or difficult to access, particularly during severe weather, which can affect how quickly we can confirm repair times. 

The safety of our teams and customers is our top priority. If safe to do so, we have teams rostered to work during the day and at night. At night, we focus on making areas safe and repairs will be made when safe to do so.  

We also ask our teams to stop working if the weather conditions are too dangerous.  

Secure anything that could damage the power lines. Also, keep any trees clear of power lines as overgrown trees can cause outages on our network. Check out more tips on how to prepare for an outage.  

Keep safe by staying away from the power line to avoid serious injury. Treat it as live and dangerous at all times. Report a downed power line to us by calling 0800 10 40 40. 

In an emergency, call 111.  

You can contact your healthcare provider and your power company to register yourself as medically dependant. They may help put a plan in place for you. Your power company is who you pay your power bill to.  

We encourage you to have an emergency response plan if an unexpected power cut puts you at risk, including an emergency contact and a backup, shared with family, neighbours or carers. See our medically dependent advice page for more information. 

If your power is flickering, it could be something on our network causing the problem or an issue with your internal property wiring. Contact us on 0800 10 40 40 so we can investigate.  

No. Northpower does not provide generators to individual properties or customers. We encourage customers to have their own backup plan in place for both planned and unplanned outages.  
 
If you require backup power, a local electrician can help you arrange a suitable solution. Our priority during any outage is to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. 

When the power goes out, it’s a good idea to avoid opening the fridge or freezer too much. Fresh food lasts between 4 and 6 hours. Frozen food should stay frozen between 15 and 24 hours. 

If the outage is caused by an issue on the Northpower network, you will not be charged. If the problem is with your property wiring or equipment, you’ll need to pay for it to be repaired. 

Contact your insurance company in the first instance and they will contact us for any information they require. 

• Check your hot water cylinder is on. 

• Is the circuit breaker or fuse intact (not blown) and not hot or burnt? 

• Is water leaking out of the overflow or tap? 

• Are you part of a trial or pricing programme with your retailer where they could be controlling your hot water?

If your cylinder on and it’s still cold after six hours, contact us on 0800 10 40 40 before calling an electrician. Check out our hot water page.  

If only one streetlight is out, contact your council – Whangarei District Council or Kaipara District Council. If an entire street is out, contact Northpower on 0800 10 40 40.  

We will notify you five working days prior to the outage using the information provided by your electricity retailer. You may also get a notification from your power company.  If you have not received a notification from Northpower regarding an outage, please ensure your power company has the correct contact and postal details for you. 

Check the planned outages page for information on upcoming outages. 

Yes. There are some planned outages that happen at night for safety of our teams due to the location or type of works. We mainly carry out planned outages during the day. 

Before the outage begins, please turn your unit off. Our team may remove your service fuse for safety, which means your power might go out a little earlier and come back a little later than the times provided. 
If you use a backup battery system, take a moment to check that everything is working properly ensuring the system is disconnecting from the grid safety.