Powerco seeks feedback from Whanganui customers on options to strengthen local power network

Powerco is asking Whanganui customers to fill out an online survey on what upgrades should be done to the city's network. Photo / Bevan Conley

Powerco wants feedback from customers in Whanganui on options to strengthen the city’s power supply as its reliance on electricity continues to grow.

Powerco general manager for electricity, Karen Frew, said as Whanganui’s population continued to grow, the demand for power was rapidly rising.

“With new businesses opening up and existing industries expanding their operations, our forecasts predict a substantial rise in the demand for electricity as the commercial and industrial sector moves away from fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, and as more electric vehicles connect to the power network,” she said.

The company had been investing in Whanganui and exploring options to strengthen the connection between the national grid and its distribution network.

“If we do not strengthen our connection with the national grid, the risk of unplanned outages for our customers will continue to increase,” Frew said.

“That means we need to take action to improve the security of Whanganui’s power supply, improve resilience and increase capacity to meet the rising demand for power into the future to enable Whanganui’s growth.”

Last year, Powerco completed a $20 million project to construct an underground cable to connect their Peat St and Roberts Ave substations and upgrade the Roberts Ave substation to make the power supply to the area more secure.

Frew said the investment programme enhanced the network and gave Powerco more time to consider how to address the long-term supply challenges.

As part of that, the company is asking customers to fill out a brief online survey on preferred options for improving the network.

There were a number of options available to address the supply challenge, depending on how much was invested in the network, Frew said.

“To determine our level of investment and select a solution, we’re seeking feedback from our customers in the Whanganui area. We want to know what will work best for them.”

She said the company was committed to building and maintaining the network to meet the future need of customers, but to achieve it, they needed to balance the need and costs required.

The survey can be filled out on Powerco’s website by going to the ‘Engaging with communities’ section, which can be accessed by clicking the ‘What we do’ drop-down menu, then clicking ‘Learn more’ under ‘Consultations’.