By Floodwater and electricity
Post-Gabrielle, the Hawke's Bay knows the rule: never walk through floodwater near a powerline or a submerged switchboard. Dial 111 first and wait for Fire and Emergency NZ to isolate the area before approaching any flood-damaged property.
Unison Networks
Napier, Hastings and Hawke's Bay
24/7 faults line. Same number for Rotorua, Taupo and Reporoa: ask the operator to route you to the Hawke's Bay control desk.
Coverage: Napier Hill, Ahuriri, Marewa, Pirimai, Taradale, Bayview, Hastings CBD, Mahora, Flaxmere, Havelock North, Bridge Pa, Clive, Te Awanga, Waipawa-Waipukurau fringe.
Central Hawke's Bay (Waipawa, Waipukurau): Centralines on 06 858 6680.
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.
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.
Hawke's Bay after Gabrielle
A network that rebuilt itself in 2023
Cyclone Gabrielle (February 2023) destroyed parts of the Hawke's Bay network. Unison's post-cyclone reinforcement has changed the outage profile, but the fundamental geography still drives risk.
Ex-tropical cyclones
Gabrielle, Bola, and the wider La Nina cyclone seasons all track over Hawke's Bay. Esk Valley, Pakowhai, Eskdale and rural Patoka took multi-week outages in 2023. New conductor and pole investment has hardened the worst-affected feeders, but the risk profile remains.
Coastal salt + spray
Marine Parade Napier, Westshore, Bay View, Clive, Te Awanga: insulators accumulate salt and dust during dry summers. The first heavy rain triggers brief flashovers across the coastal feeders.
Orchards + harvesters
Flaxmere, Bridge Pa, Twyford, Pakipaki: the Heretaunga Plains carry overhead lines past orchards. Cherry-picker trucks, harvesters and irrigation gear striking lines is a recurring cause of localised outages.
Cyclone-prepared, but not cyclone-proof
Unison's 2024-2025 investment plan focused on rebuilding the worst-hit Eskdale and Esk Valley feeders with stronger poles and cross-arms, plus undergrounding short sections. The hardening helps with average winds, but a Gabrielle-equivalent event remains a multi-day risk for the rural network.
Unison damage claim, Napier and Hastings
Unison published an updated damage claim policy after Gabrielle. The process is clear, but storm-driven outages remain hard to claim.
- 1Call 0800 286 476 and request the Hawke's Bay incident number.
- 2Lodge the online form via unison.co.nz within 30 days.
- 3Provide photos, receipts and a registered electrician's report linking the damage to the network event. Equipment-failure claims have a better success rate than weather-driven ones.
- 4Decision in 4 to 8 weeks. Storm-driven claims (Gabrielle-like events) are typically referred to your contents insurer instead.
Hawke's Bay questions
Frequently asked questions: Napier and Hastings outages
Unison Networks, on 0800 286 476, 24/7. The same number covers Havelock North, Flaxmere, Taradale, Clive, Te Awanga and rural Hastings. For Waipawa or Waipukurau (Central Hawke's Bay), call Centralines on 06 858 6680.
Substantially, yes. Unison's 2024-2025 investment plan rebuilt the worst-hit Esk Valley, Eskdale and Pakowhai feeders with stronger poles and conductors. Some sections were undergrounded. The network now handles average severe-wind events better, but a repeat of Gabrielle (250+ mm rainfall, sustained 100 km/h gusts) would still cause multi-day outages in rural areas. Hardening reduces risk, it does not eliminate it.
Single urban fault: 30 to 90 minutes. Suburban (Havelock North, Taradale): 45 to 120 minutes. Rural Hawke's Bay: 1 to 4 hours. Major cyclone event: 12 hours to several weeks (Gabrielle restoration ran 4+ weeks in the worst-affected rural areas). Hospitals (Hawke's Bay), water and telecom are priority restoration.
For appliances killed by floodwater or storm: usually no, because the cause is the cyclone itself, not negligence. Your better channels are contents insurance (for surge or water damage) and, for income loss, the IRD's natural-disaster business income provisions if you trade from home. For surges from re-energisation after the cyclone, an equipment-failure claim against Unison may succeed with strong electrician's evidence.
Yes. All major retailers (Genesis, Contact, Mercury, Meridian, Electric Kiwi, Octopus and others) extended hardship provisions after Gabrielle: payment plans, bill credits, and waived disconnection fees for affected addresses. If you are still in difficulty after a recent outage event, contact your retailer in writing: most have published cyclone-specific support pages.