Scheduled power outage in Whangamata

Power will be shut off to Whangamata and surrounding rural areas for eight hours on Tuesday, April 4. Photo: ‘Whangamata at sunset’ by James Rauch/rauchdrafting.co.nz

To allow contractors to safely complete preventive maintenance work, Powerco will be shutting off the power supply for eight hours in and around Whangamata on April 4.

An estimated 6470 residents will be affected when power is shut off to the coastal Coromandel town and surrounding rural areas next Tuesday, from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

The preventive maintenance work aims to improve the reliability of the line and prevent future serious faults and outages, says a Thames-Coromandel District Council spokesperson.

While power is off, The Whangamata Medical Centre and schools in the area from Waihi town boundary north to Opoutere will be provided with generators.

The electricity and gas network utility has also contacted mobile service providers Chorus, Vodafone and 2degrees about the scheduled power shut down to ensure services continue throughout the outage.

Alternative and appropriate arrangements will also be made for people who are medically dependent on a constant electricity supply to power life preserving machinery, such as oxygen machines, during the planned outage.

'Those who are medically dependent on a constant electricity supply should be registered with their electricity retailer. Whenever there is a planned outage we advise retailers of the area affected so that they can notify those people who are registered with them,” says a Powerco spokesperson.

'People's safety is of the utmost importance to Powerco - if anyone has any concerns we recommend that they contact their electricity retailer to ensure alternative arrangements are made.”

POWER OUT PARTY

While the power's switched off next Tuesday, Powerco in conjunction with Enterprise Whangamata are hosting a ‘Power Out Party' at Whangamata's Williamson Park, from 1pm - 4pm, April 4, 2017.

The event encourages families to bring a picnic along and enjoy the free afternoon of activities including, face painting, games, a sausage sizzle and bouncy castle.

For more information and further updates, visit facebook.com/ThamesCoromandelDistrictCouncil

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