Snow cuts power to small parts of Christchurch and central Canterbury

Power outages affected about 2,000 customers in Christchurch and central Canterbury overnight as heavy snow blanketed the region. As at 8am today, less than 100 customers remained without power.

Orion crews worked through the night to restore power to affected areas, including parts of Sumner, Governors Bay, Yaldhurst, Belfast, Marshland and Spencerville. Power remains off this morning to parts of Belfast, Marshland and Spencerville, and Orion is working as fast as possible to get power back on to these areas.

Orion General Manager Commercial Rob Jamieson says heavy snow has built up on lines and poles in areas, and caused some lines to break.
"More snow is expected today and our crews are ready to respond quickly to any issues and make any repairs needed. At this stage the network appears to be coping reasonably well," Mr Jamieson says.

ENDS