Orion's network performance best in country

6 April 2005

Canterbury electricity distribution company Orion provided the most reliable supply of electricity in New Zealand in the financial year ended 2004.

The result was drawn from a recently published comparison of the 28 electricity distribution network companies operating in New Zealand by international consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It continues a recent trend by Orion as one the best performing networks in the country.

"Over the last five years there have been fewer power outages per customer in our network area than in any other area in New Zealand, and our customers have been without power for a much shorter length of time. We keep the lights on for 99.989% of the time," said Orion CEO Roger Sutton.

On average, Orion's customers have lost power for less than one hour per annum over the last five years, far better than the national average of around three hours.

Orion operates the electricity network in Canterbury between the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers. "Despite this area including challenging terrain such as the Southern Alps and Banks Peninsula, Orion's customers have fewer outages than customers in the Wellington and Auckland areas," said Mr Sutton.

"Our number one priority is to provide our community with a secure and reliable supply of electricity. It's vital for our region's economic and social wellbeing that Orion 'keeps the lights on', so we're delighted to see that once again we've achieved that objective better than anywhere else in the country.

"Our performance is a real credit to the hard work and dedication of our staff. I'm very confident that in 2005 we will continue to be right up there with the best in the country, if not the best."

He said Orion's excellent reliability performance has been achieved without increasing prices. "Over the last five years our prices have fallen by over 15% in real terms. The increase in electricity prices seen by customers over the last few years has generally been a result of higher costs imposed by generators and retailers."

For more information:

Roger Sutton
Chief Executive Officer
03-363-9846
Mobile 027 4333 632