Transpower ready to call in police over farm access

Transpower says it is prepared to call in police to get access to its transmission lines on a South Canterbury farm where the owners have pledged to lock it out.

Philip and Anne Munro, who went without power and communication on their farm for 10 days after a paralysing snowstorm this month, plan to refuse access to the national grid operator's maintenance staff in protest at the state of infrastructure in their area.

About 20 households in rural Canterbury are still without power after the storm on June 12 cut electricity to thousands of rural people.

Mr Munro told the Herald that essential services in rural South Canterbury had disintegrated after the storm and they felt as if they were living in the Third World.

They already had to cope without cellphone coverage, poor landline phone and no internet service at their farm at Albury, about 35km inland from Timaru.

"The rural community of South Canterbury and those affected by this snowstorm are just sick and tired of being the last on the list."

The couple did not have a gripe against Transpower's linesmen who came on to their property every six weeks or so. But they could think of no other way to be heard by Transpower and Telecom bosses.

"If the person who comes to inspect the lines gets told he can't [enter], he goes and tells his boss he can't and then hopefully it will go up the ladder.

"At this stage we haven't struck anyone that has disagreed with us."

Transpower spokesman Chris Roberts said the Munros were targeting the wrong organisation.

"The national grid performed extremely well during the snowstorm. The power cuts that resulted had nothing to do with our transmission lines or our towers. In that respect, it is something of a misguided protest. There is no lack of infrastructure in terms of the local grid in that area."

Mr Roberts said issues of access to its lines arose occasionally and were usually sorted out with negotiation.

But in rare cases, Transpower could get a court injunction to guarantee access or could ask police to accompany its staff on to a property.

"We have the legal right to access our assets under the Electricity Act. Our equipment has to be maintained."

Mr Munro said he and his wife would deal with the police turning up if and when it happened.

"We are not aiming to cause anybody any great grief."

Federated Farmers vice-president and energy spokesman Don Nicolson said he could understand the Munros' frustration when there was so much tension in Canterbury about the power and phone failures. But he felt the issues could be better addressed once the failures had passed.

Meanwhile, the snow that cut power to thousands of households will help guarantee the country's future electricity supply as it melts into the crucial southern hydro lakes.