Hundreds of Wellington households are enduring their fifth day without power, and some may have to put up with the situation for several more days.
Repair crews are working round the clock to repair damage caused by last week's storm, but Wellington Electricity warns the region's electricity network is unlikely to be completely restored until next week.
A statement from the service said, as at 12.30pm today, it was aware of 500 customers still without power.
A spokesman said significant progress had been made in the worst-affected areas, including Island Bay and Lyall Bay.
However "the damage done to the electricity network is far worse than originally expected,'' he said.