Northpower to spend $196m on network over next decade

Northpower staff working on powerlines ahead of the company spending $194 million upgrading its network in Kaipara and Whangārei over the next 10 years.

Northland electricity lines company Northpower will inject almost $200 million in the Kaipara and Whangārei economies over the next decade.

Northpower has set out it its 10-year investment plan for its network which will include spending $194m in the two districts.

The announcement comes on the back of a strong result for the 2018 financial year and follows the recent Northpower Trust Annual Meeting in Dargaville.

After investing $25m in maintenance and capital expenditure on its electricity network the past financial year, Northpower says its 10-year plan will further renew and modernise its network.

The company said that by doing so, it is ensuring it provides a safe, secure and reliable electricity network to support the region's economy, capable of supporting new technologies like electric vehicles, roof top solar and energy storage technologies as they become mainstream in the years to come.

CEO Andrew McLeod said the investment road map is a critical contribution to supporting economic growth in the region.

"As a proudly Northland owned company, we are strongly focused on maximising our contribution in Kaipara and Whangārei by delivering quality infrastructure to the region at an affordable price," McLeod said.

"We are pleased with our business performance this past year as we have sharpened our focus on our role in Northland and our New Zealand contraction operations. Supporting the communities and clients that have supported us over the years is at the heart of our business.

"We also feel it is important to be actively involved in the community. That's why we are continuing to support sponsorships like the Northland Rescue Helicopter Service - which will be celebrating 30 years of saving lives later this year - and other excellent community initiatives such as the Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau home insulation programme and the Tai Tokerau Education Trust which is providing chrome books to school students."

McLeod said another critical boost to Northland is the expansion of the Northpower Fibre network beyond Whangarei to 12 more towns throughout Kaipara and Whangārei.

"This is an initiative we have been progressing with Crown Infrastructure Partners, and our crews are doing a great job rolling out fibre networks and connecting our Whangarei and Kaipara regions to fibre. This truly is world class communications infrastructure," he said.

In Northpower's 2018 financial year, Northpower Fibre connected 2,603 people to its UFB network in Whangārei and connected 306 new homes outside of the city. Strong connection growth has continued for the 2019 financial year growing by a further 1,044 new connections over the past four months.