Orion completes major post-quake repair work

Six months on from the devastating February earthquake, Christchurch electricity network company Orion has completed the major emergency repairs needed to deliver a stable power supply across the city.

The intensive post-quake work plan saw 700 electricity sector workers from around New Zealand and Australia contribute more than 200,000 people hours to earthquake recovery.

The final stage in the immediate recovery plan was the commissioning of a new substation in Rawhiti Domain off Keyes Road in New Brighton, to replace the damaged Pages Road substation which sank two metres into the ground.

Officially opened today by the Hon Gerry Brownlee, Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, the new substation provides capacity for 20,000 customers in north-east Christchurch to use electricity at pre-quake levels. As a result, all homes and businesses in eastern Christchurch can now start to use electricity as usual. (The affected area is shown in the map that accompanies this release.)

"We thank everyone in the eastern suburbs who followed our energy savings tips and turned off unnecessary appliances over the past six months," says Orion Chief Executive Officer Rob Jamieson. "Their efforts boosted our ability to keep the power flowing and helped to stabilise the network through lowering electrical loads."

While Orion's immediate major earthquake repairs are complete, the company still has recovery work ahead of it. The network will now be thoroughly rechecked and permanent fixes designed for those parts that are running on temporary solutions.

"While in general our network should continue to respond well, we expect it will take three to five years to completely restore resilience. During this time customers may lose power occasionally, especially if we continue to experience large aftershocks. We're doing everything we can to keep the power on," says Mr Jamieson.

In total, Orion plans to allocate around $730m to projects across its urban and rural network in central Canterbury over the next decade.

"We're mindful that we need to be flexible with our planning, especially in times of change like these. We'll do all we can to work with our community and the relevant authorities to provide, maintain and invest in an electricity network that supports the Christchurch rebuild," concludes Mr Jamieson.