The damage caused to power-lines by severe winds yesterday is the worst Southland and Otago has seen in 20 years, according to the chief executive of PowerNet.
Thousands of people around the South Island were left without power after strong winds brought down power lines and caused havoc yesterday.
About 200 PowerNet customers in Otago and Southland remain without power.
PowerNet chief executive Jason Franklin said over the past 24 hours more than 11,000 of the company's customers had been affected, but crews had worked hard to restore power.
"At its peak, we've had about 80-100 field staff out there restoring power. They're only doing so where it's safe, and late yesterday evening a lot of them were stood down, but they've been very busy today and pretty much got most customers back on."
Earlier today, MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said while the wind had died down, it would pick up again later tonight but she said it would not be as bad as yesterday.
MetService said the strongest gusts yesterday were 210 kms an hour at the top of Mt Hutt, which a forecaster said were the strongest this year.
Fire Service said it had to remove several fallen trees from both the northern motorway out of Dunedin and State Highway 8 south of the city overnight.
It said it had a quieter night than expected, responding mainly to calls about minor damage such as roofs lifting and street signs blowing over.
