Power cuts in Auckland

[yachtie10]

The herald is saying could you advise them if you are having power cuts

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10622222

my reply was

how can people tell you the power is down in there area.
Surely they cant read this page if that is so?

Power is up in hillcrest 0627

This is how bored i am
I think ill go work on the deck

[The Everlasting]

Nope were with mercury..:)

Says the company affected is Northpower.

[paturoa]

I had to leave work early and noticed just as I got on the motoray that a set of traffic lights were not working. Would prolly still be there if I'd been 5 minutes later.

[gilly]

Hubby says we lost power - Awhitu Peninsula, Waiuku.

Luckly we've still got power at work, putting a newspaper to bed without power is a nightmare!

[p.dath]

Transpower Grid Emergency
http://www.vector.co.nz/outages/current-outages
The National Grid operator Transpower has declared a grid emergency and instructed Vector to reduce load. Initially we have shed hot water load however now we have been instructed to reduce further load which will result in power outages to some areas. We will advise which areas are affected as they come available. No estimated restoration times are available at this stage

The areas affected at this stage are:

Remuera, Ponsonby, Epsom, East Tamaki, Freemans Bay, Manukau, Mt Wellington, Newmarket, Onehunga, Birkdale, Beachhaven, Northcote, Glenfield, Manly, Helensville, Hauraki, Forest Hill, East coast Road, Albany, Belmont

[The Everlasting]

OMG!!

That's crazy.

[p.dath]

The herald is saying could you advise them if you are having power cuts

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10622222

my reply was

how can people tell you the power is down in there area.
Surely they cant read this page if that is so?

Power is up in hillcrest 0627

This is how bored i am
I think ill go work on the deck

Power is down in my area. My laptop is running on batteries, and my laptop has a built in Vodafone card ...

[The Everlasting]

I better cook dinner before the power goes out.

[yachtie10]

Power is down in my area. My laptop is running on batteries, and my laptop has a built in Vodafone card ...

now your showing off
is this the best use of those batteries?
you should be writing your letter

[R6_kid]

Nope were with mercury..:)

Says the company affected is Northpower.

I'm pretty sure Northpower is maintenance contractor, not a power company.

[The Everlasting]

I'm pretty sure Northpower is maintenance contractor, not a power company.

Yep just realised that.

[Elysium]

"Power cut to Auckland":whocares::whocares:

[Gareth123]

"Power cut to Auckland":whocares::whocares:

So true! Should cut the cable. Then see what happens lol

[FJRider]

I better cook dinner before the power goes out.

yes ... me too. ... WAIT ... I dont live inAuckland ... :lol:

[Usarka]

There is a power surge in Mianus!

[p.dath]

now your showing off
is this the best use of those batteries?
you should be writing your letter

Haha. Thinking about how to structure the letter while I wait.

[Jantar]

We had a power cut this afternoon as well. It lasted for about 20 mins, so nothing unusual. Just a normal weekly event. Why are Aucklanders so concerned?

[Elysium]

Why are Aucklanders so concerned?
They won't get their lattes.

[p.dath]

We had a power cut this afternoon as well. It lasted for about 20 mins, so nothing unusual. Just a normal weekly event. Why are Aucklanders so concerned?

Haha you troller. :)

Probably something to do with what Auckland adds to NZ's economy compared to Alexandra and the number of people affected.

[p.dath]

Well fuck me, armed police have had to be bought in to allow firemen and Transpower onto the private property to do the repair.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10622231


Armed police have escorted Transpower staff onto the farm of Steven Meier - the owner of the farm where a fire underneath power lines prompted mass power cuts across Auckland this afternoon.

[Pussy]

Our power availability is just fine in New Plymouth.
Just thought you'd all like to know......

[Mully]

Fucking 3rd world infrastructure.

Pathetic.

[Squiggles]

Generator flicked on @ 4:30 when it went out and back off an hour or so ago... Was blissfully unaware it was most of Auckland :lol:

[PirateJafa]

Didn't even realise there was a power cut today - was on the computer all the way up to 5pm, and even then I only heard about it on the radio on my way to the Waikato.

[The Everlasting]

Hehe never had a power cut where I am..:smug:

[Pussy]

Hehe never had a power cut where I am..:smug:
Poremoremo has their own generators, then? :)

[Swoop]

It's a good thing that Auckland still hasn't built its nuclear reactor...

[Big Dave]

They won't get their lattes.

The irony of anyone from Palmerston North or Alexandra putting shit on anywhere is absolutely first rate. :-P

[EJK]

The farmer is preety famous for tauntrum on TV right now.

[avgas]

We had a power cut this afternoon as well. It lasted for about 20 mins, so nothing unusual. Just a normal weekly event. Why are Aucklanders so concerned?

Then you auto-reclosed on the poor guy with the shovel in the ground......fault cleared, notify his next of kin ;)

[avgas]

Fucking 3rd world infrastructure.

Pathetic.

Errrr no.......but then again I would expect this sort of response from a kiwi.
3rd world is a shitload worse

[avgas]

Well fuck me, armed police have had to be bought in to allow firemen and Transpower onto the private property to do the repair.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10622231

Oh god just read article. I wonder if his parents are cousins?

[quickbuck]

Errrr no.......but then again I would expect this sort of response from a kiwi.
3rd world is a shitload worse

Right you are.... We had to generate our own electricity,and had scheduled outages every second day.

[Jantar]

Haha you troller. :)

Probably something to do with what Auckland adds to NZ's economy compared to Alexandra and the number of people affected.
You may want to rethink that. One place of business alone in Alexandra (employing less than 50 people) earns over $180M per annum, and as the entire Aleaxandra/Clyde Valley only has a population of less than 6000, that single industry alone gives Alexandra a higher GDP per capita than Auckland. Fortunately that place of business has never, and can never, suffer a power cut. It is responsible for restaring the South Island grid if there is ever an Island wide blackout.

[Berries]

One place of business alone in Alexandra (employing less than 50 people) earns over $180M per annum, and as the entire Aleaxandra/Clyde Valley only has a population of less than 6000, that single industry alone gives Alexandra a higher GDP per capita than Auckland

I didn't realise you had Maccas in Alex yet.

[Jantar]

Its coming. (So they tell us). :laugh:

[Okey Dokey]

Seems to me that if a business is so critically reliant on power, and suffers from frequent outages, that investing in a generator would be sensible insurance.

But everyone enjoys a good moan on the internet!

[p.dath]

It's a good thing that Auckland still hasn't built its nuclear reactor...

I used to pro-this, but having looked into it a little more, and less enthused.

First, they estimate there is only around 75 years worth of uranium left on earth at the current rate it is being mined. Secondly, much to my surprise, the cost/MW of nuclear power is substantially more than hydro generation. So if we could kind a small enough reactor, and built it, and it ended up supplying a large proportion of our power, the cost of power is likely to go up.

I have no concerns about the safety aspect of nuclear reactors. Modern reactors are safe.


Seems to me that if a business is so critically reliant on power, and suffers from frequent outages, that investing in a generator would be sensible insurance.

They do, and its called our power grid. Seriously though, it's not always straight forward.
The first issue is you need a diesel tank (assuming you have a diesel generator) and you can't just go and plonk a 5,000l tank of diesel anywhere. It's a dangerous good, and if you are storing dangerous goods you need special permissions and their are design considerations. Plus you actually need the space to place it.

Then there is the generator. They aren't particularly small, and aren't that quiet either. So you need to have somewhere close where you can place this big object, yet still be able to encase it to make it quiet enough that you can work over the noise.

And there is the maintenance. I have seen so many standby generators fail when placed under load because they get run so infrequently. Can you imagine if you only used a motorcycle once a year, and each time you did use it you ran it at maximum RPM?

[Usarka]

But everyone enjoys a good moan on the internet!

I don't - I'm getting sick of it.

[Lias]

I'm with with the farmer.
Transpower are fucking bullies, forcibly running new lines through the waikato to supply Auckland, despite massive opposition. They should be forced to underground all the lines, and simply charge auckland consumers the exctra cost.

I'm just waiting for people to start sabotaging the new transmission towers as they go up.