More than 100 MainPower customers in North Canterbury are without electricity after severe weather damaged infrastructure across the region, with some facing several days without power.

The largest outage is affecting 87 customers on Inland Road and State Highway 1 near Kaikōura, where supply was cut at 8.15am on Tuesday.

A MainPower spokesperson said this week’s rain event had left its mark on North Canterbury.

“While we haven’t experienced exceptionally high numbers of customers without power, the impact of this week’s weather has still been significant,” the spokesperson said.

“Flooding, ground conditions and road closures are making it challenging to access the areas needing repair. Some customers have been told to prepare to be without power for several days.

“The teams are scoping, where possible, and making plans for repairs when we are able to safely access the damaged areas.”

The Inland Road outage was caused by severe weather conditions and damage from the Cribb Creek Bridge on the Inland Kaikōura Rd

 

bridge washout.

“At this stage, we expect customers to be without power for several days while access is restored and repairs can be safely undertaken,” the spokesperson said.

“We will provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available, including an estimated restoration time.

“Our crews are committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible.”

No estimated restoration time has been given for the outage.

Further unplanned outages are also affecting customers on Inland Road in Kaikōura and Mendip Road in Parnassus.