By Fallen line or hazard
Stay back 8 metres minimum and call 111 first. Bushfire-related line damage in the Tasman region is increasingly a summer risk.
Two lines companies cover the Nelson region
24/7 fault numbers across Nelson and Tasman
Nelson Electricity
Central Nelson, Stoke, Tahuna
24/7 faults line. Smaller territory, often faster pickup than the national 0800 numbers.
Coverage: Nelson CBD, Britannia Heights, The Wood, Tahunanui, Stoke, Atawhai, Glenduan.
Network Tasman
Richmond, Motueka, Tasman
24/7 faults line.
Coverage: Richmond, Brightwater, Wakefield, Motueka, Mapua, Tasman, Takaka, Golden Bay, St Arnaud.
Marlborough (Picton, Blenheim): Marlborough Lines on 0800 50 60 80. West Coast (Buller, Greymouth, Hokitika): Buller Electricity and Westpower.
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.
Top-of-the-south patterns
What drives Nelson and Tasman outages
The top of the South Island is climatically benign by NZ standards: low average wind, infrequent storms, mostly settled weather. The outage drivers are mostly local and predictable.
Coastal salt + boat traffic
Tahunanui, Atawhai, Motueka waterfront, Mapua, Kaiteriteri: insulators near the coast accumulate salt. The fishing fleet and yacht harbour activity also occasionally cause cable strikes in the harbour area.
Wildfire smoke and heat
Wakefield, Pigeon Valley, Tasman fringe: the 2019 Pigeon Valley fire showed how summer wildfire risk now feeds into electricity. Heat-related conductor sag and smoke-related flashovers are an emerging pattern after dry summers.
Long rural feeders
Takaka, Golden Bay, St Arnaud, Murchison fringe: the long feeders that serve sparse populations are slower to restore. A single fault on the way over the Takaka Hill can leave Golden Bay dark for hours.
Reliability benchmark
Network Tasman consistently reports SAIDI around 120 to 180 minutes per connection per year, mid-pack for NZ rural-urban networks. Nelson Electricity, with its small CBD-only territory, often delivers under 60 minutes: among the best in the country.
Nelson and Tasman damage claims
Both lines companies process damage claims directly. Smaller territories mean quicker turnarounds than the national operators.
Nelson Electricity
- · Email [email protected] within 30 days.
- · Incident number, photos, electrician's report.
- · Decision in 3 to 5 weeks.
Network Tasman
- · Download form from networktasman.co.nz.
- · Lodge within 30 days, all evidence attached.
- · Decision in 4 to 6 weeks.
Nelson region questions
Frequently asked questions: Nelson and Tasman outages
Nelson Electricity, on 03 546 0107, 24/7. Covers Nelson CBD, Britannia Heights, Tahunanui, Stoke, Atawhai. For Richmond, Motueka or anywhere outside the central city, call Network Tasman on 0800 10 22 11. For a hazard, dial 111 first.
Nelson Electricity covers a compact central area: the CBD, The Wood, Britannia Heights, Tahunanui, Stoke, Atawhai and Glenduan. Network Tasman picks up everything outside that footprint: Richmond, Brightwater, Wakefield, Motueka, Mapua, Tasman district, and out to Golden Bay. If you are unsure, the Nelson Electricity website has a postcode checker.
Mild climate (low average wind, infrequent storms), compact urban network, and consistent investment in maintenance. Nelson Electricity's SAIDI often sits under 60 minutes per customer per year, among the best in NZ. Network Tasman is mid-pack overall but mostly because of long rural feeders to Golden Bay, not the urban areas.
Single urban fault: 30 to 60 minutes. Suburban Richmond, Motueka: 45 to 90 minutes. Golden Bay or rural Tasman: 1 to 4 hours, longer when the Takaka Hill is the affected feeder. Major events are very rare in this region: the most disruptive recent outages have been wildfire-related (Pigeon Valley 2019) rather than wind or storm.
The 2019 Pigeon Valley fire was a wake-up call. Network Tasman now runs an active vegetation-management programme and has installed remote sensors on the highest-risk feeders. Households in rural Tasman or Wakefield should keep vegetation back from overhead lines (it is your responsibility on private land), and avoid burn-offs during fire-season Red bans.