Dougal and Gay Stringer
Waikaka, Southland · Battery, Solar
"It has been brilliant."
At the Waikaka block, they had an off-grid solar system with two lithium batteries, which allowed them to operate their home as normal after the storm.
"It has been brilliant," Mrs Stringer said.
The solar system had been part of their new house since they built it about two years ago.
They installed the solar system because it was cheaper than getting power poles installed across the 2km between the road and their new house.
They also had a windmill installed to generate power for their home.
Another solar system was installed on the covered yards at the bigger block about a decade ago to power farm infrastructure ranging from electric fences to freezers.
As the solar system on the covered yards was connected to the grid, allowing them to sell surplus energy, it remained off during the outage, so it did not hamper any repair work undertaken by the linesmen.