Station could delay power line

Any new power station north of Auckland could delay construction of the controversial 400 kV line running through the Waikato to south Auckland.

Two state-owned enterprises, Genesis and Mighty River Power, are planning new stations to help supply the soaring demand for energy in Auckland and further north.

Transpower spokesman Chris Roberts said projects like the Genesis plan and the Marsden B proposal from Mighty River Power had the potential to defer the deadline of 2010 to build a new transmission line through the Waikato.

"If more generation is available from 2010 from whatever source, then the time when the existing transmission lines reach capacity may be pushed back a number of years."