Steady progress in restoring power

Electricity remains out to 2,500 of the original 28,000 Orion customers that lost electricity supply on Tuesday night, due to the gale force winds. Most of those without power are in the rural community west of Christchurch.

"It will take a few more days, probably until Tuesday, to restore supply to the 2,500 remaining customers without power. Progress is slower now as many of the repairs we are completing take a few hours to fix but only bring on a few customers at a time," says Orion Chief Executive Rob Jamieson.

"Contractors from throughout the South Island and Wellington have been assisting us for the last couple of days and more are arriving from Dunedin today. We are thankful for their support as many of our contractors, who have been working solidly since Tuesday, need a break or else their safety will be compromised by fatigue," continues Mr Jamieson.

"We also greatly appreciate the patience of those affected by the power outages."

All available crews are working to restore power as quickly and safely as they can. We ask any residents using generators to get them installed by registered electricians to ensure the safety of the linesmen repairing the network.

If you see a fallen power line, or a tree on a power line, please stay well clear and call us on 0800 363 9898.

Our next update will be at 4.30pm.

ENDS

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