By Fallen line, sparks or smoke
Stay back at least 8 metres, keep children and pets clear, and call 111 first. The Canterbury Plains have long overhead rural feeders where a downed nor'wester-blown line is the most common hazard, so treat any conductor on the ground as live.
Help your neighbours
Live community map & report a power cut
If neighbours are also without power, the fault is on the network, not your switchboard. The map below shows outages reported by other Selectra readers across New Zealand in real time. Use it as a first diagnostic before you call: if an active outage is already plotted near you, crews likely know about it. A short anonymous report helps others see what is happening in your suburb. It does not replace the call to your lines company.
Immediate danger
Fallen power line, sparks, burning smell or smoke? Call 111 before reporting anything else. Stay back at least 8 metres from any downed line.
Unable to load outage data. Please try again later.
Report a power cut
Thanks: your report is recorded
Now make the official call to your lines company so a crew is dispatched. For a fallen line or any hazard, dial 111 first.
Canterbury power outage: four lines companies
Which lines company covers your town
Canterbury splits into four network territories. Match your district to the right card below: the 24/7 fault line and the live outage map differ for each one. Every map shows the number of properties affected by feeder, which is the figure most people are looking for during a regional event.
O
Orion
Greater Christchurch and Selwyn
24/7 faults line. Orion's mostly underground urban network typically restores city outages in under 60 minutes.
Coverage: Christchurch city, Hornby, Riccarton, Papanui, New Brighton, Sumner, Lyttelton, Halswell, Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Banks Peninsula.
MainPower
North Canterbury and Waimakariri
24/7 faults line for the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts.
Coverage: Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Woodend, Pegasus, Oxford, Amberley, Cheviot, Hanmer Springs, Culverden.
EA Networks
Mid Canterbury and Ashburton
24/7 faults line covering the Ashburton district and surrounding irrigation country.
Coverage: Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia, Tinwald, Hinds, Mount Somers, Mayfield.
Alpine Energy
South Canterbury and Timaru
24/7 faults line for the Timaru, Mackenzie and Waimate districts.
Coverage: Timaru, Temuka, Geraldine, Pleasant Point, Waimate, Twizel, Tekapo, Fairlie.
What drives Canterbury outages
Nor'westers, snow and irrigation: the Canterbury outage pattern
The Canterbury Plains are flat, dry and exposed. The three drivers below decide which district loses power, and they explain why a property count of a few hundred can jump to thousands during a single weather event.
Nor'wester gales
Selwyn, Ashburton plains, inland MainPower country: the foehn nor'wester funnels off the Alps at gale strength, throwing irrigation pivots, debris and branches across long overhead spurs. A single fault can darken several hundred rural properties at once.
Southerly snow loading
Hurunui, Mackenzie, the inland foothills: wet southerly snow clings to conductors and snaps them under weight. Alpine Energy's Mackenzie feeders (Tekapo, Twizel) and MainPower's high-country lines are the most snow-exposed in the region.
Irrigation and farm works
Mid Canterbury, EA Networks territory: intensive dairy and arable farming means diggers, pivots and machinery regularly clip overhead lines. EA Networks and MainPower both publish dig-safe reminders before each irrigation season for this reason.
Canterbury-specific tip
When you want to know how many properties are affected, open the outage map for your district's network and click the marker nearest you: each pin shows the property count and an estimated time of restoration for that feeder. The community map above aggregates reports region-wide, but the lines company's own map is the authoritative property count during a major event.
Fried fridge or heat pump? Claiming after a Canterbury outage
Only Orion publishes a dedicated appliance-damage claim channel in Canterbury. For the other three networks, surge damage normally goes through your contents insurance, with a written request to your retailer in support.
- 1Call your lines company's 24/7 fault line and request the incident number. Note the time, the duration and any visible cause.
- 2On the Orion network, email [email protected] within 30 days, with photos, receipts and a registered electrician's report. MainPower, EA Networks and Alpine Energy do not run a standing claim form: lodge through your contents insurance instead.
- 3Send your retailer a short written request quoting the incident number and outage duration. They cannot pay a network claim, but it documents the event and may trigger a goodwill credit.
- 4Allow 4 to 8 weeks. Equipment-fault claims succeed most often; nor'wester and snow events are usually treated as weather rather than negligence. Appliances under 5 years old with a receipt fare best.
More Canterbury outage guides
Drill down to your town for the local fault line, suburb hotspots and restoration patterns.
Christchurch
Orion network, post-quake underground city grid.
Rangiora and Kaiapoi
MainPower, North Canterbury and Waimakariri.
Rolleston and Selwyn
Orion, the fastest-growing district in NZ.
Ashburton
EA Networks, Mid Canterbury irrigation country.
Timaru
Alpine Energy, South Canterbury and the Mackenzie.
Power outages in a neighbouring region: Otago, West Coast, Marlborough or every New Zealand region.
Canterbury region questions
Frequently asked questions: Canterbury power outages
It depends on your district. Orion covers greater Christchurch and Selwyn on 0800 363 9898. MainPower covers North Canterbury and Waimakariri on 0800 30 90 80. EA Networks covers Mid Canterbury and Ashburton on 0800 430 460. Alpine Energy covers South Canterbury and Timaru on 0800 66 11 77. For a hazard, dial 111 first.
Open the live outage map for the network that covers your district (Orion, MainPower, EA Networks or Alpine Energy) and click the marker nearest you. Each pin shows the number of properties on that feeder and an estimated time of restoration. The community map on this page aggregates reader reports across the whole region, but the lines company map is the authoritative property count during a major event.
No. Rangiora and Kaiapoi are on MainPower, not Orion, even though they sit close to Christchurch. MainPower covers the whole Waimakariri and Hurunui area on 0800 30 90 80. Orion picks up Selwyn towns such as Rolleston, Lincoln and Prebbleton to the south.
The Plains are served by long overhead feeders that run for tens of kilometres to reach sparse rural properties. After a nor'wester or snow event, a crew may have to patrol the entire line on foot or by quad bike to find the fault. Urban Christchurch, which Orion rebuilt largely underground, restores far faster than the inland MainPower, EA Networks and Alpine Energy feeders.
On the Orion network you can email [email protected] within 30 days with the incident number, photos, receipts and a registered electrician's report. MainPower, EA Networks and Alpine Energy do not run a standing claim form, so surge damage on those networks goes through your contents insurance, supported by a written request to your retailer. Equipment-fault claims succeed more often than weather-driven ones.
Yes. All four networks give at least 5 working days notice of planned maintenance by letter or email, and list upcoming planned outages on their outage maps. If you depend on medical equipment, register with your retailer so the lines company can give proactive notice and confirm contingencies.