Orion continues to investigate the cause of the power fault

Media statement
9.45am, Thursday 10 July 2014

Orion continues to investigate the cause of the power fault in north Christchurch

Orion continues to investigate the cause of the fault which resulted in the loss of power to a section of north Christchurch overnight. The outage initially affected 30,000 customers, although power was quickly restored to 12,000 addresses. Power was restored to all customers within three and a half hours.

CEO Rob Jamieson says "The fault occurred on a high voltage line that runs for 9km from Islington to Papanui. Last night, and again at first light this morning, our crews walked the line to try and find the fault and we have found no obvious cause. We are continuing to investigate what caused this rare type of outage."

"This fault, and the outages recently experienced in the far north as a result of the storm, serve a timely reminder to people that power failures can occur at any time and people need to be prepared for that. Everyone needs a backup plan, which includes having torches, with spare batteries, and a wind up radio. Simple preparations can make a big difference."

© Scoop Media