By Fallen line or hazard
Stay back at least 8 metres, keep clear of standing water near a downed line, and call 111 first. A line dropped across a vineyard row or a Sounds road can still be live, so treat every fallen conductor as energised.
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 area. 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
Only the lines company that owns the poles and wires in your street can dispatch a crew. Call the number below if your report shows the outage is on the network.
Marlborough Lines
Blenheim, Picton and the whole Marlborough region
24/7 faults line. Marlborough Lines is locally owned, so the depot is in the region and the same number covers the town, the Wairau Valley and the Sounds.
Coverage: Blenheim, Renwick, Springlands, Witherlea, Riverlands, Picton, Waikawa, Spring Creek, Grovetown, Seddon, Ward, Havelock, the Marlborough Sounds.
Marlborough network signatures
What drives Blenheim and Marlborough outages
Wine country joined to a maze of remote Sounds inlets gives Marlborough a distinctive outage profile. Three patterns dominate the register.
The Marlborough Sounds
Havelock, Kenepuru and the outer Sounds: long overhead feeders thread along steep, bush-clad coastline. Storm-driven tree fall and slips are the main cause of cuts, and water-only access to some homes makes restoration slow.
Vineyard load and frost fans
The Wairau and Awatere valleys: spring frost-fans, irrigation pumps and harvest-season processing load create heavy, concentrated demand on the rural vineyard feeders, with localised faults during the busiest weeks.
Easterly storms
Blenheim, Picton and the coast: a big easterly off Cook Strait is the storm that does the damage here. Picton, as the ferry gateway, also sees weather-related disruption that affects both power and transport at once.
A Marlborough tip
If you own a Sounds bach or a vineyard property on a long rural feeder, expect outages to last longer than in central Blenheim, and keep a torch, a charged power bank and a battery radio on hand. For frost-critical vineyard equipment, ask Marlborough Lines to note the property when you register a critical load.
If a power surge damages an appliance in Blenheim
Marlborough Lines does not publish a consumer damage-claim portal, so surge-damaged appliances are normally handled through your own cover rather than the lines company. Here is the path Marlborough households use.
- 1Call 0800 99 6111 and ask for the incident reference, the start time and any recorded cause. You will need this if you make a claim.
- 2Lodge the claim through your home contents insurance, the usual route for surge damage. Keep photos, the original receipt and a registered electrician's report.
- 3Send a short written request to your electricity retailer as well, quoting the incident reference, in case the fault is later attributed to network negligence rather than weather.
- 4Expect 4 to 8 weeks. Appliances under 5 years old, with a receipt and an electrician's report, fare best. Storm events are usually treated as weather, not negligence.
Blenheim questions
Frequently asked questions: Blenheim outages
Marlborough Lines, the regional lines company, on 0800 99 6111, 24 hours a day. The same number covers Picton, Renwick, Seddon, Havelock and the Marlborough Sounds. For a hazard such as a downed line, dial 111 first.
Check the community map above to see whether a neighbour has reported a cut, then open the Marlborough Lines live outage map for the official list of current and planned outages. If your neighbours still have power, the fault is more likely your own switchboard or main fuse, so check those before you call.
The Sounds are served by long overhead feeders running along steep, bush-clad coastline, and many homes have only water access. After a storm brings down trees or triggers a slip, crews may need a boat to reach the fault, so a Sounds outage routinely lasts far longer than a cut in central Blenheim.
A single fault in central Blenheim or Picton: typically 30 to 90 minutes. Rural vineyard feeders in the Wairau or Awatere valleys: 1 to 3 hours. Remote Sounds spurs out past Havelock and Kenepuru: 2 to 8 hours, longer when access is by water only.
Yes. Marlborough Lines gives advance notice of planned maintenance, usually by letter or email, and lists upcoming work on its outage map. If someone in the household depends on mains power for medical equipment, register as a medically-dependent customer with your retailer so the network can give you proactive notice.
Marlborough Lines does not run a public damage-claim portal, so surge damage is normally claimed through your home contents insurance. Keep the incident reference, photos, the original receipt and a registered electrician's report, and send a written request to your retailer too. Allow 4 to 8 weeks. Weather-driven storm outages are usually excluded.
Nearby outage guides
Power outages across the top of the South Island
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 the top of the South Island.
See the regional hub: Marlborough power outages, or browse every New Zealand region.