Power Outage Christchurch: Orion, MainPower, What to Check

Quick answerFirst check whether the outage is on the network or inside your home. Look at your switchboard for a tripped main switch, RCD or circuit breaker, then see if your neighbours still have power. If the street is dark, check Orion's current outages list (Christchurch, Selwyn and Banks Peninsula) or MainPower's outage map (Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Pegasus and the rest of North Canterbury). If only your house is out, the fault is probably on your side.

Electrician checking a home switchboard during a power outage in Christchurch

A power cut in Christchurch usually lands at the worst time: a frosty winter morning, a nor'wester tearing at lines, or the middle of dinner. The quickest way to get the lights back is to work out whose problem it is, because the lines company fixes the network while faults inside your property are yours to sort.

This guide walks through the checks in the order we would do them, explains which network you are on, and covers the point where it stops being a waiting game and becomes a job for an electrician.

How do I check for a power outage in my street?

Look outside first. If streetlights, neighbours' windows and the traffic lights at the end of the road are all dark, the outage is almost certainly on the network, and there is nothing to fix inside your house.

Orion's own advice before reporting an outage is to check the circuit breakers or fuses on your switchboard and to ask whether your neighbour has power. If both checks point to the network, look for your area on Orion's current outages page. If it is not listed, Orion says to contact your electricity retailer or Orion's customer support team on 0800 363 9898, which is also its 24 hour line.

On the MainPower network, the outage map shows whether an outage is planned or unplanned, and faults go to the 24 hour line on 0800 30 90 80. MainPower asks people not to report faults through its website, so phone it in.

Planned outages are different. Your retailer tells you about planned work ahead of time, and MainPower also texts the account holder. If you rent, check with whoever holds the power account, because the warning may have gone to them.

Whole street dark: network outage, check the lines company list or map.
Only your house dark: start at your switchboard.
Only some rooms dark: a single circuit or RCD has tripped inside the house.

Is my area on Orion or MainPower?

The Waimakariri River is the dividing line. Orion runs the network from the Rakaia to the Waimakariri and from Banks Peninsula to Arthur's Pass, which covers the city, Selwyn towns such as Rolleston and Lincoln, and harbour settlements such as Lyttelton.

North of the river it is MainPower, which covers Waimakariri and Hurunui districts through to Kaikōura. That means Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Woodend and Pegasus report faults to MainPower, not Orion. If you have just moved to a new subdivision in Pegasus or Rangiora from the city, save the MainPower number in your phone now.

Your retailer (the company that sends the bill) is a separate business from the lines company. Either can take a fault report, but the lines company sends the crew. Our page for an electrician in Selwyn and Waimakariri covers the towns on both networks.

Why is only part of my house without power?

When some rooms work and others do not, the network is fine and something inside the house has switched off a circuit. In a modern switchboard that is usually an RCD (residual current device) or a circuit breaker doing its job after detecting a fault or an overload.

Common triggers are a heater and a kettle on the same circuit, water getting into an outdoor socket, a failing appliance element, or a damaged cable. In older Christchurch homes, such as the villas and bungalows around Beckenham, original rubber-insulated cable can break down with age and start causing nuisance trips that get more frequent over time.

It can also happen on a partly repaired house. Plenty of homes in Kaiapoi, Burwood and New Brighton came through the earthquakes with new work joined onto old circuits, and buried cables to garages or sleepouts may have been strained when the ground moved. A repeat trip on one of those circuits is worth having traced rather than reset again and again.

Power still off on your side?

If the street has power and you do not, Cheeky's Electrical can trace the fault, make it safe and explain what failed before any repair goes ahead.

0800 432 532 Book Online Get a quote

What should I do if the main switch has tripped?

Turn off and unplug the appliances on the affected circuits, then try the main switch or RCD once. If it stays on, plug things back in one at a time; the item that trips it again is your likely culprit.

If the switch will not stay on even with everything unplugged, leave it off. Forcing a breaker or holding an RCD up does not fix a fault, and an old fuse board with rewireable fuses should never be fitted with heavier fuse wire to stop it blowing. At that point you have a fault in the fixed wiring or the board itself, and our electrical repairs team can find it.

If you see sparks, smell burning or see smoke coming from a socket or the switchboard, switch off at the main switch only if you can do it safely, keep everyone clear and get help. Outside, MainPower's advice is to treat all lines as live during an outage, and to call 111 first for fallen lines, transformer fires or branches on lines.

How long is food safe in the fridge in an outage?

Keep the doors shut. Northland Regional Council's civil defence guidance says an unopened fridge keeps food cool for at least 2 hours, a half full freezer is fine for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours.

The same guidance warns that once food has been at 5 degrees Celsius or warmer for more than 2 hours, the risk from bacteria rises sharply. Frozen food can be refrozen only if it still has ice crystals and has stayed under 5 degrees. If you are not sure, throw it out.

Appliance	Door kept shut	Source
Fridge	Cool for at least 2 hours	Northland Regional Council civil defence
Freezer, half full	OK for up to 24 hours	Northland Regional Council civil defence
Freezer, full	OK for up to 48 hours	Northland Regional Council civil defence
Any chilled food above 5 C	Higher risk after 2 hours	Northland Regional Council civil defence

Why do outages seem worse on cold winter mornings?

They are not necessarily more frequent, but they hurt more. Christchurch gets about 80 ground frost days a year, and Orion describes very cold winter mornings and evenings as the network's rush hours, when heaters, heat pumps and hot water cylinders all draw at once.

Inside a house, that same pattern shows up as overloaded circuits. A board that copes in March can start tripping in July when an oil heater, a heated towel rail and the kettle all run on one circuit. If your trips cluster on frosty mornings, the network is probably fine and the house wiring is telling you it needs more circuits or a better board. A switchboard upgrade spreads the load and adds RCD protection across every circuit.

When should I call an electrician?

Call the lines company when the street is out. Call an emergency electrician when the problem is inside your boundary and one reset has not solved it, or book online if the fault is minor and can wait a day. Cheeky's Electrical gets these calls most often when:

the main switch or RCD trips again as soon as it is reset with everything unplugged
there is a burning smell, scorch marks or a buzzing sound at the switchboard
power has come back to the street but not to your house or one part of it
a socket, light or appliance got wet and now trips the circuit
lights dim or flicker badly when a heater or the oven turns on

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the lines company fix faults inside my house?

No. Orion and MainPower look after the network up to your property. Wiring, switchboards, sockets and appliances on your side are the owner's responsibility, so those faults need a licensed electrician.

Should I unplug appliances during a power cut?

It is sensible to switch off heaters, ovens and anything that could start unattended when power returns, and to unplug sensitive electronics. Leave one light switched on so you know when the power is back.

Can I run a generator into my switchboard?

Not by plugging it into a socket. WorkSafe's technical bulletin says small generators with 10 amp outlets are for light loads only and must not be connected to the switchboard or house wiring unless a permanent connection point with a changeover switch has been installed by a licensed electrical worker.

Why did my power trip when it came back on?

When power returns, everything that was left on starts at once, and a fault that was already there can show itself. Switch appliances off, reset the board, then turn things back on one at a time to find the cause.

Who do I call in Rolleston or Lincoln?

Rolleston and Lincoln are on the Orion network, so check Orion's outages page or call 0800 363 9898. Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Pegasus are on MainPower, on 0800 30 90 80.