The Transpower pylon at Glorit, near Wellsford, fell over on June 20 after a contractor removed too many nuts from the base of the pylon. Photo / NZME
The Transpower pylon at Glorit, near Wellsford, fell over on June 20 after a contractor removed too many nuts from the base of the pylon. Photo / NZME
More than three months after a region-wide power cut caused by a fallen Transpower pylon, Northland is getting a package to help it keep the lights on — including a $1 million fund to benefit the region.
But further payments and compensation could also be coming, as the Electricity Authority investigates Transpower’s compliance with maintenance rules.
Called an “act of incompetence and negligence”, the incident cost Northland’s economy between $37.5m and $80m, with some large businesses shut for days.
Northland MP Grant McCallum has been among those pushing for compensation or a goodwill payment from Transpower, to acknowledge the damage to Northland.
He announced on Wednesday a three-pronged package to secure Northland’s energy: a regional electricity resilience and reliability plan, work on a renewable strategy and a contestable $1m resilience fund.
McCallum said the pylon falling over was “inexcusable”, with an Electricity Authority investigation finding several key failures by Transpower led to its collapse.
In a separate investigation, the authority was looking at whether Transpower breached the Electricity Industry Participation Code regarding maintenance of its asset.
An investigator has been appointed and will make recommendations to the Electricity Authority. The authority can then decide to make recommendations to an independent rulings panel, which can order pecuniary payments of up to $2m plus order compensation, McCallum said.
The $1m resilience fund — funded 50/50 between Transpower and Omexom — is separate and will help support resilience projects that deliver long-term benefits for Northlanders, Transpower acting chief executive John Clarke said.
“We know it’s never easy to be without electricity and Northlanders have been through a lot in the last few years.”
The money will be managed by Northland Inc, with selection by a panel of Northland community leaders, along with representatives of Transpower and Omexom. Northland Inc chief executive Paul Linton said more information would be provided in coming weeks.
Northland MP Grant McCallum, Transpower acting chief executive John Clarke and Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo says the projects will help Northland move forward from the pylon collapse. Photo / Denise Piper
McCallum said he would like to see the money used to benefit Northland as a whole, such as supporting the education precinct planned for Whangārei.
He acknowledged the sum was not enough to compensate businesses but it was a start.
“I know people are still very angry about what happened. It’s great to get something out of it.”
Meanwhile, Transpower has started working with lines companies Top Energy and Northpower on the Regional Resilience and Reliability Plan for Northland, which is expected to be finished before the end of the year.
The regional strategy — which has worked overseas to quickly increase new energy supply — has been championed by the Northland Corporate Group, which represents the biggest companies in Te Tai Tokerau.
The plan will look at ways Northland can power itself if it should become isolated from the national grid again, such as through severe weather. The area has geothermal generation at Ngāwhā plus solar farms, but they rely on the national grid to work in sync with demand, Clarke said.
On top of that, the electricity grid needs upgrading for the Far North to export electricity from solar generation. The plan could look at ways to pay for that without it having to cost local consumers more, he said.
Despite little action on the zone, the region is already becoming a renewable energy hot spot, with projects including a 64-hectare solar farm built by Lodestone Energy near Kaitāia, New Zealand’s first battery energy storage site being built by Meridian Energy at Ruakākā and Meridian gaining consent to build a $200m solar farm next to the battery storage.
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo, who is also chairman of the Northland Mayoral Forum, said Northland was blessed with natural resources that could play an important role for the region’s energy resilience and economic development.
“Northland is in a position where it could generate more than it needs and become an exporter of electricity to Auckland.”
Cocurullo was thankful to Transpower for fronting up and taking part in the process, and said the region would be grateful if such an incident never happened again.
Leah McKerrow, new NorthChamber chief executive, said it would have been good to have more than the $1m in the resilience fund and businesses would want to make sure the money goes to projects with material impact.
“I suspect many of our businesses will be hoping for more, but it’s absolutely right to look at the resilience for the region and also to seek reassurances that we’re learning from what happened.”
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
