A fire-suppression system seems to be the culprit for knocking-out power for more than 23-thousand households and businesses in the Far North

Top Energy says the outages were first reported shortly after 5.20 this evening, with towns affected including Kerikeri, Russell, Paihia, Kaikohe and Kawakawa.

A spokesperson says there is no evidence of fire or extensive damage at the Kaikohe substation.

They say one of the breakers which feeds power into the substation appears to have failed, triggering the fire-suppression system - causing the outage.

Crews are now working through required safety checks to see whether they can begin restoring power.