The lessons from Cyclone Gabrielle: trim trees, protect substations

Cyclone Gabrielle cut power to 11% of NZ electricity connections. (Image: Getty)

Mon, 09 Oct 2023

Trees that electricity lines companies are not allowed to trim caused most of the power outages during Cyclone Gabrielle, a review of the storm has found.The work by consultants Energia said changes to the tree regulations would be one way to reduce power cuts on such a large scale again.Gabrielle was extreme with the loss of unused electricity because of the cyclone valued at more than $500 million with the cost of repairs on top of that, let alone the losses to businesses and others in not having an energy supply.'Out-of-zone'The revi...

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