A transformer which caught fire in the Wellington suburb of Churton Park. Photo: Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
More than 150 homes in Churton Park are still without power, but electricity has been restored to houses in Johnsonville, Ngauranga and Glenside.
Wellington Electricity estimates it could be close to midnight before the power can be restored to all the remaining properties.
Fire and Emergency said a transformer was on fire but had since been put out.
Power is out to more than a thousand homes in Churton Park. Photo: WELLINGTON ELECTRICITY / SCREENSHOT
Fire and Emergency spokesperson Murray Dunbar said two firetrucks were called to the scene at 11.30am.
They had to wait while the power was turned off before they could extinguish the fire, but the blaze was now out, he said.
A Wellington Electricity contractor who did not want to be named said they were trying to find out how the transformer caught fire.
Smoke could be seen from the transformer fire in Wellington's Churton Park. Photo: RNZ / Kirill Kirichai
It was fully burnt out and would need a complete replacement, he said.
Earlier the contractor said they would try to "back feed" power, which meant getting power back on to households while they were replacing the transformer.
It would require traffic management, and work would likely continue into the evening, he said.
"It's the first time I've seen a transformer on fire," he told RNZ.
What remained of the transformer in Churton Park. Photo: Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
A woman said she called 111 after spotting smoke coming from an electricity transformer which caught fire, which earlier cut power to about 1000 Wellington properties.
Resident Lisa Prior said earlier she was driving past the transformer and noticed that the door was open, and what looked like smoke.
She called emergency services, then carried on to an appointment.
Prior said she then returned to the scene, and firefighters told her flames from the tranformer had caught nearby trees on fire - but it was now out.
Another resident on nearby Pony Grove, who did not want to be named, said her power was out from about 11.30am.
She heard a big bang, and initially thought it might have been the rubbish truck, but then a neighbour told her about the transformer.
She used the outage as an excuse to read her book, and said she and her husband would probably visit one of their children for dinner if the power was not restored by then.
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