Power restored to Timaru

Power is slowly being restored to Timaru after a major electricity outage hit the town this morning.

The downtown area had power restored shortly after 9am and it is slowly coming on elsewhere after 20,000 homes were left without electricity when a fire at a power substation caused a major blackout across the city.

Phone lines were down and policemen were directing traffic after traffic lights went out.

The Fire Service was called to the North Street substation at 4.54am, southern fire communications shift manager Brian Sharpe said.

The fire was out shortly after 7am. Most of Timaru and Pleasant Point, including traffic lights, were affected by the outage.