Fourteen areas in running to have powerlines buried

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Fourteen residential areas in Auckland are shortlisted to have their overhead powerlines buried underground by electricity lines company Vector.

But only two or three areas will be selected when the company starts an ambitious new programme this year to rid suburban streets of ugly powerlines.

Vector, and its public owner, the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust, have budgeted $10 million a year to revive the undergrounding programme that stalled at the time of the city's power crisis in 1998.

By then, most of the lines alongside main roads had been buried, eliminating the risk of cars crashing into poles.

About two-thirds of residents' lines are underground, but older suburbs still have lines strung overhead.

Power poles cover nearly 70 per cent of Auckland City, compared with 26 per cent in Manukau and 5 per cent of Papakura.

Since launching a 40-year underground programme last June with an initial budget this financial year of $5 million, Vector has buried powerlines on Hill Rd in Manukau City, is completing a project the length of the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and has plans for Great South Rd at Wiri and Ivanhoe Rd in Grey Lynn.

Vector chief executive Patrick Strange said the 14 shortlisted suburban areas - of between 8km and 13km of streets - had been selected using criteria such as the age of the lines, their fault history and concentration of population.

Vector also planned to "piggyback" on the work programmes of councils and communication, gas and water companies to share costs and cause the least inconvenience to residents.

Once Vector had assessed the best-value projects over the next three months, in conjunction with councils and utility companies, two or three projects would be earmarked to start in spring, said Dr Strange.

But areas that miss out this year would not automatically be shortlisted next year because Vector, the councils and utilities had varying work programmes and priorities, he said.

Auckland City's manager of utility relationships, Des Hughes, said the council had only just received the plans from Vector, but it made a lot of sense to liaise with the company to "maximise leverage" on work such as road resealing.

Consumer trust chairwoman Pauline Winter said the $10 million pricetag for burying lines meant there was less money for a dividend to Vector customers, but the work was a public good with environmental benefits.

It cost $400,000 to $500,000 to service a kilometre of road, of which councils contributed $35,000 to $40,000 for new street lighting.

Dr Strange said about 30 per cent of the cost went to providing new lines from the street boundary into homes, but residents were unlikely to be required to pay part of this cost.

However, Vector was considering a "test case" from residents in a low-priority Parnell street who were willing to pay for lines to be buried.

Dr Strange said the 50 residents had been given an estimate of the cost and the extent to which Vector would subsidise the work, but he refused to name the street or the likely costs.

Details of the underground programme and shortlisted areas will be on the web by the middle of next month at the Vector website.

Shortlisted areas


Point England

Meadowbank

Rosebank

Orakei

Avondale

Mangere Bridge

Glendowie

Mangere East

Papatoetoe

Homai

Manurewa

Papakura

Pahurehure

Glen Innes


Vector