Hundreds of rural Cantabrians have been reconnected to their power today, more than a week after gale force winds struck the area.
Of the 28,000 customers whose power was cut off last Tuesday, 500 remain disconnected, electricity company Orion said.
"It is a time-consuming process getting power back on to the remaining customers, as the repairs we are doing now affect only a few customers at a time,'' chief operating officer John O'Donnell said.
"However, we are making good steady progress and I can assure all customers that remain without power that we are working as quickly and safely as possible.''
Contractors from around the country arrived today to help in reconnecting those customers still without power, he said.
