Locals who lost power as a result of the fire at Emerald Bay almost two weeks ago will be pleased to have their electricity restored by this evening (Friday January 21).

A number of power poles were destroyed in the fire and needed to be replaced, with 78 customers in the area either being supplied by a generator or on a temporary supply while the complex repair work was done.

Aurora Energy general manager operations and network performance Matt Settle said some additional work was carried out at the same time, to future proof the network in the area and prevent the need to disrupt the rejuvenation of vegetation.

“We knew there were some poles near the fire site that weren’t damaged by the fire but due to be replaced within the next five years, so we made the decision to replace them now.

“We wanted to leave the area without the need to re-enter, so vegetation can recover without being disturbed again. The Department of Conservation was happy for us to do this and supported our approach,” he said.

Customers should expect to be without power between 3 and 5 p.m. this Friday afternoon while they are switched back to their usual electricity supply. Aurora Energy staff have contacted the customers to advise them of the temporary outage.

Electricity should be restored for affected customers by this evening.

PHOTO: Supplied