Key questions and answers for central Canterbury residents and businesses

Your power supply

Who is Orion and how are you different from my electricity retailer?
What can I do to get power reconnected to my property?
I'm building new premises - how do I get power connected?
When will the power be on to my building in the central city?
Why does the power keep going out in parts of the central city?
Can I register for general updates about power supply in the central city?
You have reported that the major earthquake repair work needed to stabilise the network is now complete. So why should we still be prepared for power cuts?
If my power goes off, how quickly will you be able to restore it?
If my power is cut, where can I get updates from Orion about when it will be restored?
Will you warn me when there’s a power cut coming?
If I can be notified, how and when will you let me know?
I live rurally and rely on electricity for my farm or business. Should I consider purchasing a generator?
Will Orion use diesel generators to keep the power on to customers?
Will I notice anything different if power is supplied to my house from a diesel generator?

Impacts of earthquakes on the network

What impact has the February quake had, compared with the September quake?
Why did the quakes cause the power to go out in some areas and not others?
What impact has the February quake had on the amount of electricity used in Christchurch?

General earthquake recovery questions

How long will it take to restore the electricity network to where it was prior to the quakes?
What major projects do you have planned to enhance the network?
Are overhead lines better than underground cables?
Did you do anything after the September quake to strengthen the electricity network?
Can you do more to your network to better withstand earthquakes?
How earthquake proof are new power poles?
Why not underground the badly damaged high voltage cables again straight away?

Who is Orion and how are you different from my electricity retailer?

Orion is the delivery truck in the supply chain of electricity – we transport electricity from the national grid to homes and business via our extensive network of lines and cables in central Canterbury. We then charge the electricity retailers (eg. Meridian, Mercury, Contact) in our area for our delivery service, and retailers in turn charge customers.

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What can I do to get power reconnected to my property?

If you're returning to your damaged home or business and don't have power, please contact your electrician who will coordinate with us to get your power back on.

If you’re in the Christchurch central city (within the four avenues) and don’t have power, please call us on 03 363 9898 – one of our technicians will then assess your premises to see whether it’s possible to safely restore power. You should also call us if you need electricity to access your building to retrieve property from the Red Zone.

I'm building new premises - how do I get power connected?

Please contact your electrician, or builder's electrician, for advice on how to get your new home or business connected to our network. Visit the Getting connected page of our website for further information.

When will the power be on to my building in the central city?

Our goal is to process requests to reconnect power within two working days where it’s safe and possible to do so. In some CBD Red Zone areas, our high voltage network isn’t working yet, so power can’t be restored.

Why does the power keep going out in parts of the central city?

We often receive instructions from authorities to disconnect buildings for demolition at short notice – this can mean turning the power off to nearby buildings or streets. Often we’re unable to warn central city residents and businesses of these power cuts.

We understand your ongoing frustrations with these cuts, however please be patient – power supply within the four avenues will be problematic for some months as demolition work continues.

Can I register for general updates about power supply in the central city?

Yes, please email cbdinfo@oriongroup.co.nz to register for general updates.

You have reported that the major earthquake repair work needed to stabilise the network is now complete. So why should we still be prepared for power cuts?

While our immediate major earthquake repairs are complete, there is still recovery work ahead of us. We are still finding cable damage, and we expect it will take three to five years to completely restore the network to its pre-quake state. In the meantime, please remain prepared for the occasional power cut over the coming months, particularly if we continue to experience large aftershocks.

If my power goes off, how quickly will you be able to restore it?

Our teams are ready to respond around the clock if your power goes out. Usually, we’ll be able to get your power back on within two hours. If the fault is more complex, it may take up to five hours. In exceptional cases it may take longer while re reroute power supply or install generators.

If my power is cut, where can I get updates from Orion about when it will be restored?

Your electricity retailer will be able to answer your queries by phone.

If your power is out and you have internet access on your mobile phone or laptop, you can check for updates on the outages page of our website. When the power goes out, we update that page with the expected duration of the power cut and the area affected.

You can also follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/OrionNZ

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Will you warn me when there’s a power cut coming?

Unfortunately we can’t warn you, unless it’s a planned cut for non-critical network repairs. Most power cuts at the moment are due to faults, which occur with no warning.

If I can be notified, how and when will you let me know?

If we do need to turn your power off for planned repairs other than critical or emergency works, your electricity retailer (e.g. Meridian, Contact, Genesis) will give you at least a week’s notice.

I live rurally and rely on electricity for my farm or business. Should I consider purchasing a generator?

As we can't guarantee the power will stay on, rural customers who rely on electricity for essential operations should ensure they have a generator available. For advice about safely connecting a generator at your property, please call either Orion on 03 363 9898 or your local electrician.

Will Orion use diesel generators to keep the power on to customers?

Diesel generators are on standby to be used if there is a power cut and power supply can’t be quickly rerouted from other parts of the network. Other large generators have been installed at QEII Park to help meet demand for electricity.

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Will I notice anything different if power is supplied to my house from a diesel generator?

Your hot water cylinder may not heat if power is supplied to your house from a diesel generator. Hot water cylinders are controlled by remote signal. If your house is on generator supply rather than mains power, our signal doesn't work. In some circumstances your hot water supply may be able to be switched on using a different method - call your electricity retailer (e.g. Contact, Mercury, Empower) for advice. For more information about remote control of hot water cylinders see the load management section of our website.

Diesel generators need to be serviced regularly, usually once a week. If you are on generator power for more than a week it is likely you will experience a power cut for up to two hours while we carry out the weekly service.

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What impact has the February quake had, compared with the September quake?

The damage caused by the February quake was around 10 times worse than the September quake. That is in line with other types of damage to the city.

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Why did the quakes cause the power to go out in some areas and not others?

Most of the high voltage electricity network in Christchurch is underground, while local low voltage lines are often overhead. Massive earth movement in some places, particularly around rivers and streams and in the hill suburbs caused multiple underground cable breaks which take a long time to and fix. As we would expect, power generally went out in the areas affected by the greatest earth movement.

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What impact has the February quake had on the amount of electricity used in Christchurch?

Since the February quake, the amount of electricity used in our network area has dropped by around 13%, mostly due to people moving out of the damaged eastern and hill suburbs and the CBD red zone. This graph clearly shows the sharp reduction in electricity use on 22 February when the 6.3 magnitude earthquake cut power across Christchurch.

How long will it take to restore the electricity network to where it was prior to the quakes?

We expect it will take three to five years to completely restore the network's resilience. During this time you may experience the occasional loss of power, particularly if we continue to experience large aftershocks. Our immediate major earthquake repairs are complete, and the network is now being thoroughly rechecked and permanent fixes designed for those parts that are badly damaged.

What major projects do you have planned to enhance the network?

Over the next 10 years we to plan fund more than $220m worth of projects to strengthen our electricity network in the north, west and south of Christchurch. The top 10 projects are shown in this diagram. In total, we plan to allocate $730m to projects across our entire urban and rural network over the next decade. Permanent fixes for the eastern suburbs are still being determined.

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Are overhead lines better than underground cables?

There are pluses and minuses with both. Modern overhead power lines built to the latest seismic standards generally withstand earthquakes better and can be repaired much faster than underground cables, which are not designed to move. However, in a storm underground cables are very secure while overhead lines are likely to be damaged. Also, many people prefer their utilities to be out of sight underground.

Did you do anything after the September quake to strengthen the electricity network?

Yes. Two new large capacity 11kV underground cables were installed in firm ground running from Belfast to Burwood. These were finished and started supplying power to the north-eastern suburbs two weeks after the February quake.

Can you do more to your network to better withstand earthquakes?

We have done extensive seismic strengthening over the past two decades. Many older brick buildings in Christchurch have been hard hit in the quakes, but strengthening of Orion’s 270 brick substations meant few sustained serious damage.

All our transformers are bolted down, a lesson learned from the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake where large transformers fell over leaving some areas without power for weeks.

All available options to strengthen underground cables will be looked at when we replace them. In the short term, emergency overhead lines in Dallington and New Brighton will help with power supply.

How earthquake proof are new power poles?

We take precautions to make sure new poles are well protected – they are made of treated timber and surrounded by compacted gravel. No poles fell down as a result of the quakes.

Why not underground the badly damaged high voltage cables again straight away?

It will take two to three years to design and build permanent supply to replace the damaged 66kV underground cables that supply power to north-east Christchurch. We need to be able to keep the power on until we are able to complete that work.

View all earthquake updates from Orion.