Your power supply
Following the February earthquake, Orion has completed the major emergency repairs needed to deliver a stable power supply across Christchurch. As a result, all homes and businesses in the city can now use electricity as usual.
Thank you to everyone in the eastern suburbs who followed our energy savings tips and turned off unnecessary appliances over winter. Your efforts boosted our ability to keep the power flowing and helped to stabilise the network through lowering electrical loads.
We are doing everything we can to keep your power on while we continue to restore the network to its pre-quake state. Thank you for your support and patience.
Power supply – Christchurch (excluding CBD) and central Canterbury
Orion’s electricity network is usually one of the most reliable in New Zealand. However, earthquake damage may cause the occasional power cut over the coming months, particularly if we continue to experience large aftershocks.
Before the earthquakes, there were around 12 underground cable faults on our Christchurch network each month. Now, this number has increased to 50. Please stay prepared to manage power cuts – keep a torch and battery radio handy and charge your mobile phone often.
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 we reroute power supply or install generators.
Power supply in Christchurch CBD
Power supply in the Christchurch CBD (within the four avenues) will be problematic for some months as building demolition work continues. The majority of the Christchurch CBD Red Zone (the area within the cordon) remains without power for safety reasons.
Often we’re unable to warn central city residents and businesses of power cuts, as we receive instructions to disconnect buildings for demolition at short notice – this can mean turning the power off to nearby buildings or streets.
We understand your ongoing frustrations with these cuts, however please be patient as the demolition work continues.
We urge anyone entering the Red Zone to treat properties as though ‘live’, particularly if exposed wires can be seen or if demolition or digging is being carried out.
Further information
Contact us for power supply updates
Please call us on 03 363 9898 if:
- your power is off, or you any questions or concerns about your power supply
- you are unsure about the power supply status of your building or property in the CBD Red Zone.
For general enquiries, please email us at info@oriongroup.co.nz.
View all earthquake updates from Orion. |