It is a grid emergancy.
It isn't just Auckland, it is Northland and part of the Waikato as well.
My suburb was in the list shown on the lead story on TV3 but our power was back by then. We were out for 25 minutes.
Mr sp and I are well used to this sort of thing as we have both worked in the telecommunication industry. We are expecting the power to go off again as Transpower seems to be in "brownout" mode.
Remember that Auckland has only one power station (guess what - it is off line for maintenance) and Northland doesn't have any.
Wellington can be supplied from two directions, from central North Island and from South Island, Auckland and Northland are not.
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Transpower declares grid emergency, rolling blackoutsNZPA
January 25, 2010, 6:08 pm
Rolling power outages are under way tonight between Waikato and Northland after a fire below transmission lines led Transpower to declare a grid emergency.
The company had directed Vector to reduce pressure on the electricity network, causing power to be cut to thousands of homes in Auckland.
Areas around Auckland, the North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere were currently affected, Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie said.
Vector was unable to advise the exact time and place outages would occur but would try to keep customers informed, he said.
Customers were advised to listen to radio for updates and prepare for power cuts.
Transpower was unsure when normal operations would resume, but was aiming to have power restored by 7pm, chief executive Patrick Strange told Radio New Zealand.
He said a fire in trees below a major transmission line south of Hamilton had occurred while a powerstation and a line from Huntly to Auckland were down for maintenance, leading to the emergency.
Transpower was working flat out to get the lines back up, he said.
Traffic lights in Auckland were affected by the outage, and police were identifying major intersections and deploying staff to direct traffic, police northern communications Inspector Chris Robinson said.
Water supplies in some areas had also been affected.
Newmarket Business Association chief executive Cameron Brewer said power to half of Newmarket's businesses was cut about 4.45pm.
The outage [did] nothing to inspire confidence in the security of electricity supply into Auckland, he said.
"Power cuts seem to have become a regular event in Auckland and it's fast becoming beyond a joke.''
Meanwhile, Tauranga residents had been advised to conserve water following a major electrical fault at the Joyce Road Water Processing Plant.
The city's water supply was being used faster than it can be supplied, Tauranga City Council said.
Some areas in Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Welcome Bay and Ohauiti were likely to experience a lack of water pressure.
Some areas might not receive any water supply tonight, the council said.
Water supply to the affected areas had been switched over to the Oropi Water Processing Plant while repairs were made.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/6719058/transpower-declares-grid-emergency-rolling-blackouts/
