By Fallen line or hazard
Stay back at least 8 metres, keep clear of any standing water near a downed line, and call 111 first. After a Southland southerly, a line brought down over a farm fence can energise the wire, so treat fences and gates near a fallen line as live.
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 town. 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.
Unable to load outage data. Please try again later.
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. The Gore and Mataura network is owned by The Power Company and operated by PowerNet, so the one number below reaches the System Control room that dispatches crews.
P
PowerNet
Gore and Mataura, The Power Company network
24/7 System Control line. The Gore and Mataura network is owned by The Power Company and operated by PowerNet, so this one number reaches the crew dispatch room.
Coverage: Gore, Mataura, East Gore, Gore township, Edendale, Wyndham, Mandeville and the rural Mataura valley farms of eastern Southland.
The rural Southland network
What drives Gore and Mataura outages
Eastern Southland is open farming country with long overhead feeders between the towns, so the outage pattern is shaped by weather and by the spread-out nature of the network. Three local factors dominate.
Southerly storms
Gore sits in the path of cold Southland southerlies. Strong wind, driving rain and the occasional snow event bring tree branches onto the lines and cause conductor clashes, especially out along the rural feeders toward Wyndham and Edendale.
Long rural feeders
Supply to farms and the smaller settlements runs along long overhead spurs from the town substations. A single fault out in the open country can take crews longer to locate and restore than a fault inside Gore or Mataura itself.
Dairy and processing load
Eastern Southland is intensive dairy country with milk processing nearby. Farm irrigation, milking sheds and pumping draw heavy rural load, and a feeder outage during milking has knock-on effects that crews factor into restoration order.
A Gore and Mataura tip
Because the slower outages here are out on the rural feeders, a small backup goes a long way. A charged power bank, a battery radio and a way to keep one room warm through a cold Southland night make a multi-hour rural outage far easier to manage. Dairy operators should confirm generator changeover arrangements before each winter.
Surge damage after a Gore outage: how to claim
The Power Company and PowerNet do not publish a dedicated household damage-claim portal for Gore, so the realistic path for an appliance damaged by a power surge runs through your own insurance and your retailer. Keep it factual and documented.
- 1Call 0800 808 587 and ask for the incident reference, the fault start time and any known cause (tree on line, conductor clash, transformer fault).
- 2Lodge a contents insurance claim for the surge-damaged appliance, with 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, so they can pass it to the network if negligence is suspected.
- 4Expect 4 to 8 weeks. Appliances under 5 years old with proof of purchase fare best. Storm and snow events are usually deemed weather rather than negligence.
Gore questions
Frequently asked questions: Gore outages
The 24/7 System Control line on 0800 808 587. The Gore and Mataura network is owned by The Power Company and operated by PowerNet, and that one number reaches the crew dispatch room. For a hazard such as a fallen line, dial 111 first.
The poles and wires are owned by The Power Company, the lines business for rural Southland. Day-to-day operation, fault response and crew dispatch are handled by PowerNet, which runs System Control on 0800 808 587. The same control room covers eastern Southland, including Mataura and the surrounding farms.
Check the live community map above for outages reported nearby, then confirm against the official PowerNet current and planned outages map, which lists active and scheduled outages by area. If neighbours are also off supply, the fault is on the network and crews are likely already aware.
A single fault inside Gore or Mataura town: 45 to 90 minutes. Rural feeders out toward Wyndham, Edendale or Mandeville: 2 to 4 hours, longer after a southerly storm when crews work down a long line in poor conditions. A wider weather event can run to several hours.
Yes. Affected properties are notified ahead of planned maintenance, and the same scheduled work appears on the PowerNet outages map under planned outages. If someone in the household is medically dependent on power, register with your retailer so the network can give proactive notice and confirm a contingency plan.
The practical route is your own contents insurance, supported by a written request to your electricity retailer quoting the incident reference. The Power Company and PowerNet do not publish a household claims portal for Gore. Keep photos, the receipt and a registered electrician's report. Appliances under 5 years old fare best, and decisions typically take 4 to 8 weeks. Storm and snow damage is usually treated as weather, not negligence.
Nearby outage guides
Power outages across Southland
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 Southland.
See the regional hub: Southland power outages, or browse every New Zealand region.