15 Feb 2017

Orion, the city's lines company, says it remains on full alert, ready to respond to any issues with power supply as a result of the fires continuing in the Port Hills.

The unpredictability of the fire and the course it may take poses some threat to continuity of power supply to the Port Hills and the greater city.

It is possible that there will be further outages until the fires are fully extinguished.

Orion urges residents in the Port Hills area to take particular care around electricity at this time.

Powerlines in smoke above the city

Powerlines shrouded in smoke above the city

The company is working closely with emergency services to co-ordinate its response to any developments and ensure its customers are kept up to date as soon as information is made available. For updates on outages around the city visit Orion Group or call 03 363 9898 for more information.

On Wednesday power was lost to 89,000 homes across the city, before being quickly restored. In a statement, Orion said the Port Hills fires had impacted power supply to parts of eastern Christchurch - with smoke or flames from the fires causing the Transpower 220 kV line to trip.