Northpower wins industry award

Northpower workers lay fibre-optic cables on Whangarei.

From rolling out Whangarei's ultra-fast fibre network to battling Mother Nature's ugly side and returning power to thousands of homes - this year saw Northpower's spark shining brighter.

The Whangarei-based electricity lines company proved that power really was in its hands when winning the Lines Company of the Year award for the second year in a row.

The good news comes just weeks after the company published its financial report citing healthy profits for the 2013/2014 financial year.

The award was announced at the Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards at the Langham Hotel on August 13.

Earlier this month, Northpower Electric Power Trust (NEPT) announced that revenue for the Northpower Group had lifted 9 per cent to $308 million, while net profit saw a 41 per cent increase to $15.9 million.

With about 55,000 customers connected to the electricity network in Kaipara and Whangarei, Northpower had an asset value of more than $423 million at the close of the 2013/2014 financial year.

Erc Angelo, chairman of NEPT, said the financial report was pleasing, despite the challenging storm damage towards the end of the financial year.

Judges noted the company had "improved system reliability", which was put the test in July when storms whipped through Northland, disconnecting thousands of homes and businesses from their electricity supplies.

At the height of the storm, power to more than 10,000 properties in Whangarei and Dargaville was lost.

Repairs to the 800-900 faults on its network in Whangarei and Dargaville would cost Northpower about $900,000 from an annual repair budget of $1.46 million.

However, customers received $5.4 million of a line holiday this year and a distribution of $3.8 million in December 2013.

Northpower chairwoman Nikki Davies-Colley said the company had worked hard for years to be a strong performer in the electricity sector - a strategic approach that was paying off.

The delivery of its commercially and technically successful ultrafast fibre network in Whangarei also formed part of the company's success.

Northpower owns and runs the Wairua Hydro Power Station in Titoki and rolled out ultrafast broadband through its Northpower Fibre UFB network this year.