Fibre 
If you have fibre and think there might be a fault in your area, it’s best to check with your local fibre company:  

• Chorus outages map
• Tuatahi First Fibre
• Enable faults
• North Power faults
  
  

ADSL/VDSL 

• Chorus outages map 

Find out how to bring your internet connection back online.

Find out more about how to improve your internet speed and performance

If your whole area loses power: 

• The local lines company will be working on the problem as soon as it occurs. If you work in a remote or rural area, call your local faults number to log the fault. 
• Turn off appliances and electrical equipment – some can be a fire hazard and others might be damaged when the power comes back on. 

If your place is the only one without power: 

• Check your fuse box to see if it's still working. 
• If your fuse box seems to be working, you may have a fault in the supply to your premises. Contact your lines company to investigate further.

What to do in an electrical accident: 

• Don't touch the injured person if they're still in contact with a live electrical source. 
• Switch the source of electricity off, or if you can't, move the source away from you and the injured person using a non-conducting object like a wooden broom handle. Then dial 111 for an ambulance immediately. 

Find out more about planned outages.

Find out who to call about power outages.

If your water is heated by gas, there may be a problem with no gas or poor pressure. You’ll need to call us on 0800 224 424 to report the fault.

If there is a power cut, and your water is heated by electricity, there may a disruption to the power that heats your hot water cylinder.

If your hot water is heated by electricity and, if the power is on at your property, there may be a hot water fault in your area or another type of issue. If you think there is a hot water fault in your area, give us a call on 0800 224 424.

When you have no power, it means our system can’t get an update and will estimate your power use until it can get a reading. Your power use will be updated when your power comes back on.

Find out more about why you have an estimate bill during a power outage.

If you smell gas around an appliance: 

Turn it off immediately and call a Registered Craftsman. (Search ‘gasfitters’ online.) 

If you can still smell gas a few minutes after turning off the appliance: 

Do: 

• Turn off the gas supply at the cylinder or gas meter. 
• Open doors and windows to ventilate the area. 
• Call our Customer Service Team on 0800 224 424 to report the fault. 

Do not: 

• Switch on or off any lights or electrical appliances in the room, as this could ignite the gas and cause an explosion. 
• Use a telephone (including mobile phones) near any suspected gas leak. 
• Try to track the gas leak yourself. 
• Light matches, lighters or cigarettes in the area. 

 

If you smell gas in the street: 

For emergencies, call 111. Alternatively, call your gas network operator, our Customer Service Team on 0800 224 424, or the gas numbers listed in the Yellow Pages listed under "Emergency Services". 

To report a gas fault, call: 

• Natural Gas - 0800 224 424 
• LPG - 0800 762 542 

If your water is heated by gas, there may be a problem with no gas or poor pressure. You’ll need to call us on 0800 224 424 to report the fault.

You can find answers to most questions by heading to our FAQs here or through the Contact Mobile NZ app. You can chat to us there as well if you need more info.

If you are looking to report a fault with your mobile service then you can let us know at 0800 11 22 22 between 7am - 6pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

• Always dry your hands before touching electrical appliances
• Always wear dry shoes with rubber soles when using electrical appliances outside or on a wet floor
• Keep electrical appliances away from water
• Never have electric heaters in your bathroom. It's much safer to have a fixed heater installed by an electrician
• Keep appliances away from swimming pools. Don't use extension cables that reach to your pool
• Keep appliances and cords out of the rain
• Never wash electrical equipment or appliances, even if unplugged. Just wipe over with a dry cloth
• Outside meter boxes and switchboards can get water damage. It’s your responsibility to maintain weather tightness of the meter box. If you think water has entered it, please call a licensed electrical worker to check it. If the damage is only to the Perspex on the box, we’re happy to arrange repairs and bill you accordingly.  

• Be sure appliance cords are well out of reach of children
• Use plastic socket protectors on your plugs if you have young children
• Don't let young children plug or unplug appliances
• Don't leave things around that children might poke into power sockets, like screwdrivers or knitting needles
• Always be there with your younger children if they use electrical appliances, especially toasters, heaters and fans

• Before you plug in or turn on appliances, check there are no worn, broken or loose parts
• Check flexes or cords for damaged or exposed wires, or fraying and split leads
• Throw away damaged leads or get them repaired professionally
• Don't overload power points by 'piggy-backing' too many plugs into one socket
• Never remove plugs from sockets by pulling on the cord
• Replace cracked or broken power sockets 

For instant protection against electric shock, use an RCD (Residual Current Device) or an isolating transformer for portable electrical appliances like power tools, concrete mixers or electric mowers.

• Install RCDs in an existing socket outlet (all bathrooms have RCD-protected sockets)
• Install RCDs in your switchboard to protect a number of circuits
• Portable RCDs are important for a number of devices. 

A surge protector will stop damage from electrical spikes or surges. Great for:

• Computers and laptops
• Stereos
• TVs, DVD and video equipment
• Washing machines, dryers and dishwashers
• Heat pumps

• Only allow a licensed electrical worker or service person to carry out repairs on appliances -  always ask to see their Practising Licence
• Call an electrician for advice or assistance if you don't know how to change a fuse
• If you install a number of new appliances, or a large appliance such as a central heating system, it’s a good idea to have a licensed electrical worker check the capability of your meter board and wiring. Overloading them can be dangerous 

Do you run a number of household appliances at the same time? If so, you might be overloading. Overloading isn't safe for you or the people who work on the network, and it's a potential fire risk. Who to call if there is an electrical fault.

If you turn on all heaters, a clothes dryer, oven, use hot water and use all electric appliances, you risk blowing your house-fuse and having a power cut. A typical household can run up to 14 kilowatts (kW) of appliances, or 60Amps, at one time. Here is a guide to help you:



Signs you may be overloading:

• Circuit breaker often trips or fuses blow
• Outlet plates are warm or discoloured
• Lights dim or flicker
• Electrical contractor tells you so

Meters and the equipment around them can be dangerous so always follow these rules to stay safe.

• Never tamper with the metering equipment please. Metering equipment means any meter or associated equipment (including software) used to measure and/or provide information about your energy usage and to regulate and/or control the supply of energy to your premises. It is the property of Contact and mustn’t become a fixture or fitting of your property. Please don’t move or remove it without our approval
• To ensure your safety, please tell us if you need to do any work on your property that may affect the network or metering equipment (including moving the metering equipment). We’ll need at least five working days notice to make any arrangements
• The meter box itself is your property, and all the wiring and other electrical equipment inside it (excluding the metering equipment). It’s your responsibility to ensure your meter box, sub or fuse board, and any other wiring or piping is maintained. Please check them regularly and give us a call if you’re unsure about anything

Gas is a great form of energy for homes – make the most of it by using it safely. Learn more about LPG health and safety from our LPG Safety Data Sheet (SDS).

• Get a registered gasfitter to check all your gas appliances at least once every two years. You’ll avoid potential danger if you have them tested and repaired
• Ask your local gas service agent to retune your hob or change the jets in your appliances 

Please take extra care and teach your children some simple safety rules, because the littlest ones in your family are the most vulnerable to carbon monoxide gases.

• Keep children and pets away from open flames
• Keep them away from gas appliances – especially the water heater
• Make it a hard and fast rule: never play with matches – anywhere
• Don’t let your children have flammable materials anywhere near gas appliances
• Teach your children to recognise the smell of natural gas (rotten eggs). If they ever smell it, they need to tell you straight away
• Set your water heater temperature to no more than 55°C – you’ll avoid scalding that way

• Never use an LPG cabinet heater in bedrooms or bathrooms. Ventilation can’t be guaranteed, no matter how big the room is
• Good ventilation is super important. If you’re using an unflued portable gas heater, always keep a window or door slightly open
• LPG can cause some natural rubber and plastics to break down, so always use hoses especially designed for LPG. In New Zealand hoses are marked with the letters ‘LPG’ as well as other specifications – so always check
• Sometimes gas fails to ignite properly. If that happens, turn off the supply and wait a couple of minutes, to let unburnt gas disappear before you try again
• Never connect LPG to appliances that have been set up for natural gas – it could damage them

We’ll always run a safety check on your 45kg cylinders when we come and swap empty cylinders for full ones, but here are some important safety tips you should follow for large and small LPG cylinders.

• Always keep LPG cylinders upright  – if you lie them down the  safety valve will be compromised
• Always secure 9kg cylinders when you’re moving them in your vehicle – never let them roll around
• Don’t expose cylinders to excessive heat and never leave them in a vehicle in the sun
• Keep the hose from your heater or BBQ gently curved to avoid kinks and damage
• Make sure your 9kg cylinder has a current test date stamped on the neck. Gas cylinders need to be certified every 10 years. Your local refilling station will show you where the test date is written
• Use soapy water to check if your cylinder is leaking. If you see bubbles then there’s probably a leak. Turn off the valve, move the cylinder to a ventilated area, then contact your gas supplier. NEVER USE A MATCH to find a leak
• Activities that might cause a spark, like welding or grinding, need to be done well away from LPG cylinders

• If you have capacity to store 100kg of LPG or more, then we require a valid Location Compliance Certificate (LCC) to continue to supply LPG to you. On 1 December 2017, parts of the new Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 and the Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Property Controls) Notice 2017 came into effect. Since 01 December 2017 non-workplaces will no longer require a LCC for storage of 100kg or more (up to 300kg) of LPG. You can find more information here.
• You will also need a copy of our Safety Data Sheet which includes information about the composition of LPG. You need to have one of these in order to get your Location Compliance Certificate. Here is the Safety Data Sheet.

• Keep your gas water heater clean – get rid of dust, lint or sawdust that could block the air intakes at the bottom of the tank

If you insulate your water heater:

• Keep the insulation blanket well off the floor so it doesn’t cut off the air supply to the pilot light
• Use non-flammable insulation or commercial pipe wraps to insulate the hot water pipe that extends from the top of the hot water cylinder

There are a number of built in safety features in LPG fuel tanks:

• They’re manufactured to withstand the impact of an accident
• The fuel supply is automatically shut off to the engine if the engine stops or the ignition is switched off
• The manual service valve at the tank allows the system to be easily and securely turned off
• If a fire occurs, the fuel tank will safely vent its contents from the safety valve to avoid any over pressure situations 

The filler hose is designed to detach safely from the dispenser, through a breakaway coupling in the hose detaching and sealing. The coupling is located at either the top, or at the base of the dispenser. If you do drive off:

• Check for leaks
• Remove the hose nozzle from your vehicle
• Place the nozzle in the holder on the dispenser
• Check for damage to your vehicle
• DO NOT attempt to reconnect the filler nozzle breakaway coupling
• Move to a safe place off-site and call our emergency helpline 0800 762 542
• Follow the recorded instructions to alert our contractors
• If there is an immediate danger call 111 and ask for the Fire Service

• Turn off the manual service valve on the fuel tank in the boot, or under the rear of the vehicle if the tank is an under floor installation
• Ensure there are no ignition sources near the vehicle
• Look after your own safety. Call for emergency help immediately

• Turn off the vehicle's ignition
• Turn off the manual service valve located on the fuel tank in the boot, or underneath the vehicle
• Ensure there are no ignition sources near the vehicle
• If the vehicle is indoors or in a poorly ventilated area, call the fire service immediately
• If the leak is small and the vehicle is outdoors in a well ventilated area, call an LPG installer or motor mechanic immediately to attend to the leak
• If in doubt call the fire service on 111

If you detect a strong smell of LPG:

• Tell the service station staff straight away
• If you are at an un-manned site remove yourself immediately but DO NOT move your vehicle. Call the emergency site helpline 0800 762 542 to report