UPDATED 10.00am: The number in Auckland without electricity is now down to the low 300s.

However there could be a financial aftermath to the fire which took out the city’s Penrose substation on Sunday. 

The Prime Minister has warned that power prices may have to rise if it’s found that the network needs upgrading.

Council for Infrastructure Development chief executive Stephen Selwood told Newstalk ZB’s Rachel Smalley such infrastructure needs investment of tens of millions of dollars.

“That money just doesn’t fall out of the sky. It’s got to be paid for in the end of the day and it’s you and I as consumers that have to be willing to accept that if we want a fail-proof system we have to pay for that.”

Final few hundred 

The final hurdle for Vector crews in Auckland.

They’ve worked in rain, hail and wind overnight to get the number of customers in the eastern suburbs without power down to 324.

Vector’s Sandy Hodge says the main St Johns feeder has been restored, allowing them to spread the load over the network. 

“So this morning the crews continue with the relivening of the other major cables and they’ve done great work.

She adds crews have been working in very challenging weather overnight, but she says some customers may drop off during peak times.

She says power will be restored to those people once the peak has passed.

Powerless sprinkled throughout network 

Vector’s Sandy Hodge says the main St Johns feeder has been restored, allowing them to spread the load over the network.

She says those still without power are all over the network. 

“It’s the shadow and peripheral boundaries of all feeder areas so there’s not one block.”

Sandy Hodge says customers in the affected areas should conserve power this morning as it will allow more to remain on. 

Vector says it’s still a mystery as to what caused the fire at the Penrose substation which plunged tens of thousands into darkness.

Council for Infrastructure Development chief executive Stephen Selwood spoke with Newstalk ZB’s Rachel Smalley and is reassuring customers that Transpower and Vector have both heavily invested in infrastructure – but says all systems have weak links.

“I’m sure this incident will once again prompt a need to reconsider what is a resilient infrastructure network.”

Question remains over fire cause

Over 48 hours after a fire at a Penrose substation plunged much of Auckland into lasting darkness, the cause remains a mystery. 

At the height of the outage, around 85,000 customers were without power.

The final few suburbs which remain powerless are expected to be reconnected this morning. 

But Vector Energy CEO Simon McKenzie says most of those customers weren’t knocked off the grid because of damage to the substation – but for safety reasons. 

“Approximately 65,000 of those customers were out because we had to turn off the supplies to the customers from the substation to enable the fire crews to get in.”

Liability still not found

Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Kim Campbell says business owners should contact their insurance companies. 

But the question of compensation won’t become clear until investigations are completed. 

“The problem is nobody really knows what caused it and nobody knows where the liability will finally set. 

Vector Energy CEO Simon McKenzie says what knocked the system out remains unknown.

– Newstalk ZB