MEDIA RELEASE

14 December 2016, 12.30pm Release No: 14

Power will be cut again on Sunday

Power has been restored to the whole Gisborne and East Coast district but will be cut again on Sunday to repair a second circuit and ensure security of supply.

Eastland Group chief executive Matt Todd said this morning that power would be cut from 6am weather permitting but would be back on across the district by 2pm.

This timing is to cause the least inconvenience to the community.

If the weather is against a Sunday outage, the power cut will take place instead on Monday at the same time.

Generators are planned to be used to provide power to people living north of Tolaga Bay and west of Gisborne in the Puha area.

“We ask people to treat lines as live at all times. While the power is off, people should unplug sensitive electronic items until the power comes on again.

“If the day is changed to Monday, we will use local radio to convey that message,” Mr Todd said.

”Our crews will be as well planned and prepared as possible before Sunday so it will be a matter of having the lines ready on the ground before they are pulled up on the day. We have a very good crew up there and are lucky to have them on board.”

Tairawhiti Civil Defence controller Patrick Willock said the advice to people with generators is that they may wish to keep them in place until after the repairs are made.

“We also suggest those who would benefit from having a generator under similar circumstances in the future should get pre-wired so they can easily hook in.”

KEY ADVICE TO THE PUBLIC

For the planned power cut on Sunday

• Treat lines as live at all times.

• Turn off all power appliances at the wall before power is restored.

ends

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