On Monday 30 September 2024 a helicopter incident near Cave caused an unplanned power outage to around 3500 households in Albury, Fairlie and Tekapo areas.
For Tekapo, this is a busy time of the year, with Chinese Golden Week and school holidays.
Alpine Energy had two teams on the ground, with power reconnected for Fairlie by Monday evening, Tekapo being reconnected by the afternoon of Tuesday 1 October. The team from Alpine Energy ensured that generators were transported to Tekapo on Monday.
For the Monday evening, The Godley Hotel held a BBQ for those affected by the power cut, with proceeds going to Lake Tekapo School.
On the Tuesday, a number of Council staff and Alpine Energy staff opened up Lake Tekapo Community Hall so that people had access to Wi-Fi and could charge their devices. Over 120 people visited to make use of this service.