Date: Thursday 12th July 2007 4.30pm

Subject: Northpower Electricity Supply Situation

The situation has improved very significantly so far today.

The majority of damage has been caused by trees close to lines bringing down poles and wires which are difficult to access.

We should have all main network lines restored by midnight. The possible exception is Mangakahia Valley to Twin Bridges which has a large amount of damage. We have field staff working on individual customer faults. However there are still pockets in remote areas that are likely to be affected until the weekend.

We have 150 field staff plus support workers operating in the area. This is 3 times the staff normally engaged in fieldwork.

It is almost impossible to estimate restoration times for individual customers so we ask customers to please be patient. We are still working 24hrs a day to restore services. We also continue to remind customers to limit calls to urgent safety matters, such as wires or poles down, and trees through power lines.

Everybody is reminded to keep clear of power lines which are low or on the ground. All such lines must be treated as being live at all times. We especially ask people to check their properties and ensure all electrical appliances are turned off. When power is restored, heaters or stoves unattended can cause fires if flammable material is too close.

We currently have 2700 customers still without power, of which a third now includes individual faults. This number is significantly down from this morning when 6000 customers were still affected by Northpower line faults.

ENDS

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