Watch: Power pole catches fire in Wellington's Island Bay

Wellington Electricity says up to 130 homes in the south coast suburb of Island Bay are without power after an electrical component on a power pole caught fire Tuesday evening.

Fire and Emergency was called to the blaze on the corner of Liffey and Tiber streets at 6.14pm.

Residents took to social media with footage of sparks cascading down as flames burned from a junction point on the pole.

A spokesperson for the electricity lines company said its crews cut power to the area to enable fire fighters to safely extinguish the fire, which was brought under control shortly before 7.30 pm.

They said the fire was caused by a problem with a switch component which is used to isolate part of the network in the area.

The full cause of the blaze would be investigated by Wellington Electricity's faults team and engineers in the following days.

Power is expected to be restored to the area by 10.30pm.