GOVERNMENT ACTS ON LATEST POWER CRISIS

The news that the two oil cables supplying Auckland's CBD are not able to be restored has been treated with dismay by the Government, Energy Minister Max Bradford said tonight.

"Without doubt this is a serious escalation of the crisis, and makes the construction of the rail corridor emergency line much more urgent," Mr Bradford said.

He said the Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, had been fully briefed on the situation, and this latest development made their visit to Auckland on Friday morning even more critical..

"Tonight, I have been working with Mercury, Transpower, GEC ( the contractors for the temporary line) and Transrail to plan a significant speeding up to the contract timetable for the temporary emergency line," Mr Bradford said.

"By sometime early tomorrow morning we will have a better idea of our options and the accelerated timetable. All parties are cooperation fully with each other and with the Government.

"I can assure the Auckland CBD community that all stops are being pulled out to achieve the quickest possible action to erect this line to add to the temporary generation capacity being installed by Mercury Energy," Mr Bradford said.