Fallen line or smoke

Stay 8 metres clear and dial 111 first. Winter ice on conductors near the Otago Harbour can drop a line silently, with no warning.

Aurora Energy logo

Aurora Energy

Dunedin, Mosgiel and the Otago Peninsula

~56k connections in Dunedin
0800 22 00 05

24/7 faults line, the same number across all Aurora's service area.

Coverage: Dunedin Central, North East Valley, Roslyn, Mornington, St Clair, Caversham, South Dunedin, Mosgiel, Brighton, Otago Peninsula, Port Chalmers, Aramoana.

Open Aurora live outage map See full Aurora Energy guide

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.

Live power outages in New Zealand
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Source: user reports · Selectra

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.

Before you submit

Have you called your lines company first? They are the only party that can dispatch a crew. This form is a community signal that helps neighbours, not an emergency channel. For a fallen line or any hazard, call 111 immediately.

Anonymous submission

Dunedin-specific patterns

Where Dunedin loses power most reliably

Aurora has invested heavily after a 2017 Commerce Commission compliance breach forced a multi-year reliability uplift. The remaining outage clusters tell you exactly where the legacy network still struggles.

Hill suburb southerlies

Roslyn, Mornington, Maori Hill, City Rise: overhead spurs in steep streets are exposed to the southerly. Tree fall and conductor clashes are the most common driver. Restoration is slower than the flats because of access.

Coastal salt corrosion

St Clair, St Kilda, South Dunedin, the Peninsula, Aramoana: sea spray attacks insulators and switchgear. The dry-then-rain pattern triggers brief flashovers, especially after a long settled spell ends with a southerly front.

Snow load on Taieri

Mosgiel, Outram, Allanton, Henley: the Taieri Plain catches the heaviest snow events. Conductors sag under accumulation, switches trip, and rural feeders can take 4 to 12 hours to restore.

A note on Aurora's reliability journey

The 2017 Commerce Commission case forced Aurora into a heavy investment programme. Since then, SAIDI has trended down year on year, and the visible improvements are largest on the Dunedin urban feeders. Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes still see longer outages, mostly weather-driven.

Aurora Energy damage claim, step by step

Aurora publishes a clear claims policy on its website and has a dedicated claims team in Dunedin.

  1. 1Call 0800 22 00 05 at the time of the outage and request the incident number.
  2. 2Submit the online claim form on auroraenergy.co.nz within 30 days.
  3. 3Photos, receipts, electrician's report. Snow-driven outages on the Taieri are usually deemed weather, not negligence.
  4. 4Decision in 4 to 6 weeks. Urban Dunedin (transformer or switching faults) has the highest success rate.

Dunedin-specific questions

Frequently asked questions: Dunedin outages

Aurora Energy, on 0800 22 00 05, 24/7. The same number covers Mosgiel, the Otago Peninsula, Port Chalmers, all of Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes. For a hazard, dial 111 first.

Steep streets in Roslyn, Mornington, Maori Hill and City Rise carry overhead conductors exposed to the southerly. Trees overhang the lines and crews take longer to access these feeders during a wind event. Underground reticulation is gradually replacing the worst sections, but the legacy overhead is still the dominant pattern in the hill suburbs.

Single urban fault: 45 to 90 minutes. Hill suburb fault during a southerly: 1 to 4 hours. Taieri snow event: 4 to 12 hours, occasionally longer in remote feeders to Henley or Allanton. Aurora has steadily improved restoration times since 2018: multi-day outages in central Dunedin are now very rare.

If the surge is shown to be a network event and Aurora was negligent (poor maintenance, faulty switchgear), yes. Claim within 30 days with the incident number, original receipt, photos and an electrician's report. Urban Dunedin claims involving equipment failure have the best track record. Snow-driven outages on the Taieri are typically excluded as weather, in which case your contents insurance is the right channel.

The Commerce Commission in 2017 found Aurora's pole-replacement programme had fallen well behind. The lines company entered a multi-year compliance and investment plan, accelerating replacements and reinforcing feeders. Recent disclosures show SAIDI on a downward trend: the legacy issue is being worked through but not yet fully resolved, especially in Central Otago.