Blackout report due today

Transpower's keenly awaited post mortem of Auckland's power blackout will be delivered to the Government today and go straight to the Cabinet for urgent talks next week.

The report about the power failure - which saw much of Auckland lose electricity for several hours last week - is understood to be unlikely to blame anyone in Transpower.

The national grid operator has already indicated its maintenance records show that work in the faulty area was up to date.

But the report could still pose questions about whether Transpower's actual maintenance plan was appropriate and whether power was restored to consumers as quickly as was possible.

Auckland lost its power after a simple metal shackle holding an Otahuhu substation earthing wire failed and the wire snapped.

In an unusual chain of events, part of the wire fell into switching equipment and caused the huge blackout.

The failure has highlighted Auckland's dependence on a single gateway for its electricity and also firmly focused the public's attention on the ageing national grid.

Under pressure from Opposition MPs and those affected by the black-out, the Government wants to move quickly to ensure the failure is not repeated.

Transpower's report, which will be accompanied by an independent version of events commissioned by the national grid operator, will not be made public until it has at least been discussed by Cabinet ministers at their regular Monday meeting.

It will also be reviewed by an independent expert, which could further delay its release.

But Energy Minister David Parker said yesterday that a response to the blackout would be "advanced very promptly".

Transpower's report will give some initial advice to the Government on what can be done to reduce Auckland's reliance on a single outlet at the Otahuhu substation.

But it is unlikely to promote any one particular option, because each one would take more time to assess and cost.

Mr Parker, who faced intense questioning about the blackout yesterday during a select committee hearing, expressed confidence in the test the Electricity Commission uses to assess transmission projects.

He also said he would like the Ministry of Economic Development to take a role in appearing at resource consent hearings considered important to the Government.

"I think there are times when MED should turn up to hearings where it is plain there is a strong case for a consent to be granted," Mr Parker said.

"[It would] make it clear to the consent authority that MED believes there is a strong case for this particular proposal and therefore it would take a strong contrary case to knock it over."

MED officials said they had attended resource consent hearings for a wind farm at Makara near Wellington, as well as the Marsden B power station.