Most power to be restored today

10:23 am on 24 December 2011

Orion says electricity will be restored to all but a few houses in Christchurch by late Saturday afternoon.

Chief executive Rob Jamieson says fewer than 50 houses are currently without power, mainly in New Brighton and Bexley.

Mr Jamieson says Orion is waiting for Tranzpower to restore a circuit breaker at Bromley that was damaged during yesterday's quakes.

He says once that is fixed, the system should be back to normal, though it is expected to remain fragile while the company repairs damaged lines and cables.

Further wear and tear of cables and lines could cause ongoing problems for some time.

The magnitude 6.0 quake at 3.18pm on Friday blacked out power to up to 26,000 homes.

But Orion said that number had been reduced to about 400 in the New Brighton area by 10pm. The quake damaged a circuit breaker which cut power to an overhead line.