An unplanned power outage on Tuesday night prompted residents and businesses in the Upper Clutha to come forward saying power cuts have been on the rise for a while.
Lake Hāwea locals have said power outages were becoming more common in the neighbourhood, one resident reporting five in the past 77 days.
Local businesses such as the Lake Hawea Hotel said they had two unplanned power cuts in the last two weeks with one being during the day.
Aurora Energy general manager Mark Pratt responded to the increased outages in a statement saying most power cuts were caused by things outside the provider’s control.
"Most unplanned outages are caused by things outside our control such as bad weather, vegetation, wildlife, and vehicles hitting power poles, rather than the condition of our equipment," he said.
However, a spokesperson from the energy provider commented on the Tuesday night unplanned outage saying there had been an issue with one of the lines.
"There is sufficient capacity for one of the lines to manage the full load. However, last night the second line tripped, interrupting supply," the spokesperson said about Tuesday nights’ outage.
Lake Hawea Hotel receptionist Lynley Malmo along with other Lake Hawea residents said they have also been seeing more cuts during winter when temperatures were colder.
Mr Pratt said they tried to limit power outages during the colder months and only do work when it was absolutely necessary.
"Planned maintenance work during the winter is subject to our customer outage guidelines ... however, there are times when essential maintenance is required," he said.
With the Queenstown Lakes District being one of the fastest growing regions in the country, residents have questioned whether the electric infrastructure is keeping up with growth.
Mr Pratt acknowledged that growth in the district has been rapid and promised that with the investments they had made over the last few years they would be able to meet projected demand over the next four to five years.
This included an investment allowing customers to take advantage of new technologies such as solar and household battery storage.
Looking further into the future the company said they would be publicly consulting on improvement options in the Upper Clutha later this year.
"These options will position the network for the future to support the economic growth of the region and significantly reinforce the network by improving both security and reliability for consumers," Mr Pratt said.
