Transpower's urgent plea for residents in the wider Christchurch area to reduce their power use last night helped stave off forced power cuts.
The national electricity grid operator put out the request just before 6pm - when power use was spiking amid a cold snap - because one of its substation transformers was out for planned maintenance.
It also worked with lines companies MainPower and Orion to switch off controllable load, such as hot water systems.
Transpower's grid delivery general manager Mark Ryall spoke to Craig McCulloch.
