State-run Transpower New Zealand confirmed in a tweet on Friday that it has experienced a fault at its Wilton substation. Wellington City Council tweeted it could take more than three hours to restore power.
We have experienced a fault at our Wilton substation which has caused a loss of power in Wellington. We have crews on site currently working to restore power as quickly as they are safely able. We apologise for the inconvenience.
— Transpower NZ (@TranspowerNZ) 3 августа 2018 г.
Utility provider Wellington Electricity said on its website the outage had cut electricity to around 12,500 customers in the north of the city and it was working to fix the problem. Nation's parliament is in semi-darkness and its internet is down while it relied on back-up generators, Reuters reported.
Looks like there's a power outage in the Wellington CBD. Generator lights only at Vic Pip — traffic lights down. No lights on in Beehive either. #wellington #wellingtonnz pic.twitter.com/PTo7hOZQRd
— Saeran Maniparathy (@SaeranM) 3 августа 2018 г.
The legislature was not in session on Friday, however, parliamentary committees and ministerial offices were reportedly affected. Moreover, Wellington City Council warned on its website drivers to hold off on unnecessary travel while some traffic lights were out. Local media outlets reported that Wellington residents have been sent home early from work and some business, like Countdown, have shut for the meantime.
For those truly interested, the #wellington power outage is apparently due to Transpower's Wilton grid-exit point, which affects the circled Wellington Electricity zone-substations… pic.twitter.com/9jz87xxtqq
— Rustie (@rustie5555) 3 августа 2018 г.
