Orion remains at the ready

16 February 2017 at 8:17 am

Orion remains on full alert, ready to respond to any issues with power supply as a result of the fires continuing in the Port Hills.

Power supply stood up well overnight, and currently around 125 customers remain without power in the Port Hills area.

Lines in the fire affected area in the Port Hills remain off grid, and power continues to be rerouted, including through Orion’s new underground, Northern Loop cable.

Orion has asked residents and businesses to conserve power where ever possible, to reduce the load on the network while it is in contingency mode.

It is possible that there will be further outages until the fires are fully extinguished.  Orion would like to thank residents and businesses for their understanding.

The company is working closely with emergency services to co-ordinate its response to any developments, and a priority has been to maintain power supply to water pumping stations to support the fire fighting effort.

“We’d like to acknowledge the hard work of our colleagues in the emergency services, who are working long hours in very tough conditions,” said Rob Jamieson, CEO.

Orion urges residents in the Port Hills area to take particular care around electricity at this time.

For updates on power outages around the city visit our outages page or call 03 363 9898 for more information.