Tower Junction fire – Orion cable damage

16 October 2009

The fire which occurred at Tower Junction on Wednesday night caused damage to two 66,000 volt power cables owned by Orion and supplying south-central Christchurch.

The damage to these cables as a result of the fire meant power was lost to 6,000 customers across a number of southern Christchurch suburbs. Orion was able to restore all power within two and a half hours, via its backup cables.

Orion Chief Executive, Roger Sutton, says that this means the network in the south Christchurch area is now running on backup cables until the damaged cables are repaired and put back in service.

“Our staff and contractors are working very hard to fix the two cables which have been damaged, and we expect this work will take about three weeks,” Mr Sutton says.

“In the meantime, due to the current reduced security of the network, we advise customers in the Sydenham, Beckenham, Somerfield, Spreydon and Addington areas to back up computers more frequently and take other sensible precautions to mitigate the affect of any interruptions to power supply.”

Orion’s electricity distribution network is one of the most reliable in New Zealand. Mr Sutton says local customers are most likely unaccustomed to any power interruptions – and at this time it is important that south Christchurch customers be prepared for such an event.

“If another serious incident such as Wednesday night’s fire occurred while these cables are out of service, our network and customers would be exposed to extended power outages. This is very unlikely, but it’s important that we advise our customers of the risks,” Mr Sutton adds.

Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into the cause of Wednesday night’s fire at Tower Junction. Orion staff are assisting where they can with investigations.