By Fallen line, sparks or smoke
Stay back at least 8 metres, keep clear of standing water near a downed line, and call 111 first. Most of central Auckland is underground, so a line on the ground or smoke from a street-level kiosk transformer is unusual and deserves the most cautious response.
Help your neighbours
Live community map & report a power cut
If neighbours are also without power, the fault is on the network, not your switchboard. The map below shows outages reported by other Selectra readers across New Zealand in real time. Use it as a first diagnostic before you call: if an active outage is already plotted near you, crews likely know about it. A short anonymous report helps others see what is happening in your suburb. It does not replace the call to your lines company.
Immediate danger
Fallen power line, sparks, burning smell or smoke? Call 111 before reporting anything else. Stay back at least 8 metres from any downed line.
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Report a power cut
Thanks: your report is recorded
Now make the official call to your lines company so a crew is dispatched. For a fallen line or any hazard, dial 111 first.
Who fixes the fault
Your lines company and its 24/7 fault line
Every central Auckland suburb sits on the Vector network. Only Vector can dispatch a crew to a fault on the poles, cables and substations under your street. Call the number below once your report shows the outage is on the network rather than your own switchboard.
V
Vector
Central Auckland, one lines company
Or dial 0508 VECTOR. Available 24/7.
Coverage: Remuera, Mt Eden, Newmarket, Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, Epsom, Mt Albert, Parnell, Greenlane, Sandringham, Kingsland, Westmere, Herne Bay.
Why the inner city trips
What drives outages in Remuera, Ponsonby and Mt Eden
Central Auckland is largely underground, so the heritage suburbs miss the wind and tree-fall events that hit the bush fringes. The outages that do happen here follow three local patterns.
Villa heritage feeders
Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Mt Eden: some cable runs date to the villa-era subdivisions and carry loads they were never designed for. A heat-pump-heavy winter evening can trip an older feeder, taking a block dark for an hour while Vector switches the load.
Cable strikes
Newmarket, Epsom, Parnell: the inner suburbs are in constant redevelopment. An excavator clipping an underground cable is one of the most common central-city causes, and these outages restore quickly once the damaged section is isolated.
Substation switching
Mt Albert, Sandringham, Greenlane: planned maintenance on a zone substation can briefly drop a wide area while Vector reconfigures supply. These are the outages most likely to arrive with advance notice on the live map.
Inner-city tip
If you live in a converted villa or a Newmarket apartment and only your unit is dark while the streetlights and neighbours stay lit, the fault is almost always your own switchboard or the building's main board, not Vector. Check your RCD (the trip switch) before calling the fault line, and for an apartment ring the building manager first.
Vector damage claim: process and realistic outcomes
A surge on restoration can take out a heat pump, TV or modem. Vector accepts appliance damage claims when the fault was on its network and a registered electrician links the failure to the event.
- 1Call 0508 832 867 and ask for the incident number. Note the time, the duration and any visible cause (a dig nearby, a transformer hum, a switching event).
- 2Lodge the claim at vector.co.nz/claims within 30 days of the event.
- 3Attach photos, the appliance model and age, the original receipt if you have it, and a registered electrician's report. Vector reimburses the electrician's fee (typically NZ$80 to NZ$150) when the claim is upheld.
- 4Decision in 20 to 40 working days. Cable strikes and switching faults have the best success rate. If the outage was storm-driven, the better path is usually your contents insurance.
Central Auckland questions
Frequently asked questions: central Auckland outages
Vector, 24 hours a day, on 0508 832 867 (or 0508 VECTOR). The same number covers every central Auckland suburb: Remuera, Mt Eden, Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Epsom, Newmarket and Mt Albert. For a fallen line or hazard, dial 111 first.
Central Auckland is fed by separate underground feeders, so one suburb can be dark while the next stays lit. An older villa-era feeder in Ponsonby or Grey Lynn sometimes needs Vector to switch the load to an alternative cable before power returns, which adds time. Check the live map at outages.vector.co.nz: if your street is plotted, crews already know.
Largely underground. The CBD and the inner heritage suburbs (Remuera, Newmarket, Epsom, Parnell, Mt Eden) are mostly fed by underground cable, which is why wind and tree-fall outages are rare here compared with West Auckland. Some older residential streets still have a mix, and a few overhead sections remain on the fringes.
Single fault on an inner-city feeder: typically 30 to 90 minutes, because crews reach central Auckland fast and underground faults are easy to isolate. A cable strike on a construction site can be quicker once the damaged section is switched out. A wide planned-maintenance outage is set to a published window and almost always restores on time.
Probably not. If the streetlights and your neighbours still have power, the fault is on your side of the connection: your switchboard, an RCD that has tripped, or the main board in a converted villa. Reset the trip switch first. If a whole block or street is dark, that is a network fault and you should call Vector on 0508 832 867.
Yes, by letter or email at least 5 working days before the work, and the same planned outages appear on the live map filtered to "Planned". Substation upgrades around Mt Albert, Greenlane and Sandringham are the usual cause. If you rely on a medical device, register with your retailer so Vector can give proactive notice.
Nearby outage guides
Power outages across Auckland
Same storm front, different lines company. If the cut reaches a neighbouring town, here is the right 24/7 fault line and live map for the rest of Auckland.
See the full Auckland outage guide, or browse every New Zealand region.