UPDATE 3.46PM: Power has been restored to a further 468 customers affected by an outage in Katikati today.

Of the original 789 customers who lost supply just after 9am, 263 remain without power.

'The cable that supplies the remaining customers has been disconnected and will be tested,' says Powerco network operation manager Karen Frew.

'Again, thank you to our customers for their patience and understanding as we work to fix this issue.”

The estimated time of restoration remains 6pm.

EARLIER: Powerco field crews are working to find and repair a fault which cut electricity to 789 Katikati customers.

The supply went off just after 9am.

Network operation manager Karen Frew says the fault is proving difficult to locate.

'We've sent extra crews to the area to check the power poles and lines and help find the fault.

'While we were able to reconnect 58 customers within an hour, there is no ability to backfeed and restore power to the remaining 731 customers at this point.”