The flooded Whirinaki substation. Photo / Supplied
The flooded Whirinaki substation. Photo / Supplied
State-owned grid operator Transpower says it has boosted the amount of power available to local lines companies in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Local lines company Unison Networks said there were 40,800 homes without power in Hawke’s Bay, with 31,700 of these fromNapier which is the area most impacted by the loss of Transpower’s flooded Redclyffe substation, near Taradale.
Transpower said it had implemented contingency plans and reconfigured part of the network to make 90 megawatts of power available to Unison Networks and Eastland Network across the region to reconnect some houses and businesses.
An initial assessment of the Redclyffe substation indicated that there was extensive damage after flood waters reached heights exceeding 1.5 metres inside the control room, Transpower said.
Detail from an aerail shot of the flooded Redclyffe substation. Photo / Supplied
Given the extensive damage to the substation, Transpower’s focus was on creating a bypass for its 220 kilovolt line to enable it to connect to the Whakatu substation north-east of Hastings.
Transpower yesterday used a helicopter to assess more of the impact of Gabrielle on the national grid from the air and to get some staff and service providers into the area to start working on the bypass.
“In addition to flooding at our Redclyffe substation, there has been extensive flooding at our Whirinaki substation north of Napier which supplies power solely to Pan Pac Forest Products,” Transpower said.
During the flyover, Transpower also identified a tower that has fallen between the Redclyffe and Fernhill substations next to the Ngaruroro river, near Fernhill.
Due to the flooding at Redclyffe these lines are not live and the downed tower does not pose a safety risk or currently have an impact of supply power to consumers.
