Lines company ready for regional lockdown

Based on Level 3 government directives announced tonight, the need to keep their essential workers safe and to ensure the security of the region’s power supply, lines company Counties Power has immediately actioned their pandemic plan and implemented additional safety measures.

The regional lockdown means the company will be working across the Auckland and Waikato regions.  Faults teams will be based throughout both regions, with lessons learnt from the previous regional lockdown.

The company has restricted access to their Pukekohe office with the majority of office-based teams working remotely, while field crews have implemented full ‘bubble’ working practices along with other safety precautions. Network controllers are working from individual locations.

Counties Power Chief Executive Judy Nicholl says the company is now well-versed in working to heightened safety measures.

”We implemented Level 3 working conditions voluntarily on 24 January with the last Covid-19 transmission scare, so are well-practiced in rolling out safety precautions across our entire work force while continuing with our essential works programme.  Our fault crews will be working 24/7 throughout all alert levels to ensure a safe and reliable electricity network for the region.  All planned shutdowns will continue, and if the lockdown is extended, these will be staggered across areas to minimise disruption to homes and businesses.”

“For our customers in the Waikato, we have you covered.  We learnt from the border crossing delays in the last regional lockdown and have deployed crews to be based across both regions to ensure a timely response to any issues.”

Safety practices implemented in the previous lockdowns have been refined and additional safety precautions taken to combat the more infectious strains of Covid-19.

The company asks the public to please maintain a two-metre distance from their teams and to be mindful of the safety of crews.  All customers are asked to advise before a crew attends their premises if they feel unwell so appropriate safety measures can be taken to ensure the company’s essential workers stay safe.

Please be aware that due to safety protocols such as working in small team ‘bubbles’ and social distancing, some outages may take longer to be resolved.

The best way for the community to report a fault and to stay up-to-date if the power goes out is via the app – type app.countiespower.com in your smartphone internet browser. More information on the company’s safety precautions and working practices can be found at www.countiespower.com/covid-19.  For information on shutdowns visit the app or website – www.countiespower.com/shutdowns.

Please call 0800 100 202 for all other enquiries or check the website www.countiespower.com.