Number Without Power Continues to Decline

Number Without Power Continues to Decline

The number of Orion customers without power, following last week's destructive wind storm, has fallen to approximately 700. The storm originally took out power to 28,000 Orion customers.

All customers within the Christchurch area have power back on. Those remaining customers without power are dispersed around the rural region.

"Our total focus remains to reconnect as many of our customers as quickly and safely as possible. More contractors from throughout the South Island are arriving today to add even more resource to our efforts which already includes many contractors brought in from around New Zealand. We are throwing everything we have at this," said Orion Chief Operating Officer John O'Donnell.

"All of the repairs now being completed are only bringing on a few customers at a time. So it is slow progress but we are steadily getting there. I appreciate that for those customers without power it is a difficult and frustrating time and I would like to thank these people for their continued patience. Their understanding of how bad this event is makes our work easier and allows us to concentrate on getting on with the job," continues Mr O'Donnell. 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 4.00pm.

ENDS

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