27 May 2011

Dedicated work crews from Northpower were fundamental in the massive effort to restore stable power supply to Christchurch after the devastating February 22 earthquake.

After the quake, staff from electricity network Orion were faced with extensive damage to crucial high voltage underground cables that supplied power to the eastern suburbs and the central city. The company quickly realised it would need external resources to restore power and rebuild the network.

Northpower was one of many companies who rallied from throughout New Zealand and Australia to help Orion undertake the huge repair job. They sent 22 technicians and cable jointers (from Auckland and Wellington) to Christchurch for 10 weeks, with crews working long hours in difficult conditions to get the power back on and stabilise the electricity network.

“Without the quick response and expertise of crews on the ground here in Christchurch, parts of our city could have been without power for weeks or even months longer than they were. The industry response to this event has been overwhelming, and we can’t thank these guys enough,” says departing Orion CEO Roger Sutton.

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During the immediate response to the earthquake more than 700 lines workers, specialist cable jointers, technicians, electricians, engineers, civil construction workers and supply partners helped with the recovery effort in Christchurch, including staff from Orion, its wholly-owned subsidiary Connetics and local contracting companies.

All four 66,000 volt underground cables supplying north-east Christchurch were damaged beyond repair during the quake. Earth movement stretched some cables up to a metre, causing more faults than Orion would usually see in a decade. Each of the 600+ faults took more than 12 hours to find and fix – a significant task for the cable repair crews.

The work to repair high voltage cable faults is now complete – all the known faults that were able to be safely fixed have been repaired. Orion has now scaled back its resources, with cable jointing crews from around New Zealand and Australia returning home.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received during what’s been a really trying time for everyone. Workers from outside Christchurch left their homes and families to help out here while we were still experiencing aftershocks, and that says a lot about who we are as an industry and a country. Thanks to everyone who stepped up when Christchurch needed you,” concludes Mr Sutton.

ENDS

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