By Fallen line, sparks or smoke
Stay back at least 8 metres, keep clear of standing water near a downed line, and call 111 first. Christchurch's underground network rarely produces visible hazards, so any line on the ground in the rural network deserves the most cautious response.
Orion
Christchurch and central Canterbury, one lines company
24/7 faults line. Orion typically restores urban Christchurch outages in under 60 minutes, well inside the Commerce Commission's regulated reliability envelope.
Coverage: Christchurch city, Hornby, Riccarton, Ilam, Avonhead, Burnside, Papanui, Shirley, New Brighton, Sumner, Lyttelton, Halswell, Lincoln, Rolleston, Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Oxford, Banks Peninsula.
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.
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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.
The post-quake rebuild
Why Christchurch is the most reliable urban network in NZ
After the 2010-2011 quakes, Orion replaced the bulk of the central network and rebuilt it largely underground. The result is a system that absorbs the kind of weather and seismic events that knock out other Kiwi cities.
Underground CBD
Central Christchurch is over 80 per cent underground reticulation. Wind, snow and rain barely touch it. The outages that do happen are usually maintenance-driven or caused by underground works striking a cable.
Seismic switchgear
Every replaced substation is rated for the new design earthquake. Aftershocks above M5 trigger automatic checks rather than network-wide trips: a household typically does not even notice.
Best-in-class SAIDI
Orion's annual SAIDI sits around 60 to 90 minutes per connection, well below the NZ urban average. Rural Banks Peninsula and the foothills pull the figure up: central city alone would be much lower.
Where outages still happen
Banks Peninsula (Akaroa, Little River, Diamond Harbour) sits on overhead lines through hill terrain: tree fall and wind drive most outages. The foothills (Oxford, Cust, Springfield) lose power to snow load on conductors during a southerly snap. Outer Rangiora and West Eyreton see equipment-driven outages on long rural feeders. Restoration in these areas is slower because trucks travel further.
Orion damage claim: process and realistic outcomes
Christchurch sees fewer surge events than other cities because of the underground network, so when a domestic appliance does fail after an outage, Orion's claim path is well-trodden.
- 1Call 0800 363 9898 and request the incident number. Note the time, the duration and any visible cause (cable strike, transformer hum, tree on line).
- 2Submit the claim form on oriongroup.co.nz or email [email protected] within 30 days.
- 3Include receipts, photos, registered electrician's report. Orion reimburses the electrician's fee (typically NZ$80 to NZ$150) when the claim is upheld.
- 4Decision in 3 to 5 weeks. Underground cable strikes and transformer failures have the highest success rate. Snow-driven Banks Peninsula outages are usually deemed weather, not negligence.
Christchurch-specific questions
Frequently asked questions: Christchurch outages
Orion, 24 hours a day, on 0800 363 9898. The same number covers Christchurch city, Selwyn (Rolleston, Lincoln, Springfield) and Waimakariri (Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Oxford). For a hazard, dial 111 first.
The post-2011 rebuild moved most of the central network underground, replaced ageing transformers with seismic-rated gear, and reorganised feeders so that single faults do not cascade. The result: Orion's SAIDI (the average minutes-without-power-per-customer-per-year) is among the lowest in New Zealand. Banks Peninsula and the foothills, which were not rebuilt, still see overhead-line outages, but central Christchurch is one of the most reliable urban grids in the country.
Rarely. The post-quake network was designed to absorb aftershocks: substations have automatic seismic checks rather than network-wide trips. Shakes under magnitude 5 typically do not affect supply. A large near-CBD event would still trigger inspections, but the design target is to keep the power on through the kind of aftershocks Christchurch experienced through 2011-2013.
Central city, single fault: 30 to 60 minutes. Suburbs (Halswell, Hornby, Sumner): 45 to 90 minutes. Banks Peninsula or foothills (Akaroa, Oxford, Springfield): 1 to 4 hours, longer in heavy snow. Major event (post-storm or transmission level): up to 8 hours, but a multi-day outage in central Christchurch is very rare since the rebuild.
Yes, if the surge came from the network and Orion is shown to have been negligent (faulty equipment, poor maintenance). Send a claim to [email protected] within 30 days, with the incident number, photos, original receipt, and a registered electrician's report. Cable strikes and transformer failures have the highest claim success rates. Snow and storm events are usually excluded.
Yes, by letter or email at least 5 working days before the work. The same upcoming outages are listed on the live outage map under "Planned". If you have a medically-dependent customer in the household (oxygen concentrator, dialysis, sleep apnea CPAP), register with your retailer so Orion can give proactive notice and confirm contingencies.