Northland power outage caused by pylon avoidable - report

A massive Northland power outage caused by a toppling Transpower pylon was entirely avoidable and a senior engineer had raised concerns about maintenance crew training two years earlier. This is according to a report by the Electricty Authority into the incident that cut power to 88,000 homes and businesses in June, causing economic losses of up to 80 million dollars. The Electricity Authority report released today found a senior engineer had suggested Transpower beef up training for its maintenance crews including refresher courses, after identifying a "knowledge gap." However, Transpower did not act and it wasn't a one off, Darryn Fisher chief executive of the Northland Chamber of Commerce spoke to Lisa Owen.