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The biggest job in years

Published on February 13^th 2008, 11:58am

This colossal mix of Northpower staff and electrical equipment is the backbone of one of the largest line maintenance jobs undertaken in the area in about 30 years. The project, managed by Northpower senior staff Barry Holland and Derek Passmore, involves work on the Maungaturoto / Kaiwaka 33kV feeder line covering these areas and Mangawhai.

When asked how often a job like this is undertaken, Construction Supervisor Derek Passmore responds,

“Once in a lifetime, well mine anyway. Some of the younger ones might get to do it again, but not us seniors. It’s a one off for most of the guys, done every 15-20 years in each of the areas. The durable lifespan of the equipment means that it only needs to be replaced within this time frame,” Passmore says.

Northpower has a stringent line maintenance programme to ensure the safety and reliability of the network, with helicopter and land based inspections being carried out on the feeder lines regularly.

Northpower Project Manager Barry Holland says a job like this takes a lot of planning.

“We started work on this in October last year. From inspections, to designs we have put a lot of time in to get it right. We wanted to make sure that we got it done with as little disruption as possible,” he says.

“Timing is everything. We have scheduled the job for this time of year because there is less demand on the network, with Mangawhai holiday makers leaving the area and the hot summer days removing any need for heaters and the like,” says Holland.

By utilising five mobile generators, Northpower is able to shut down the two substations that feed power to the Mangawhai and Kaiwaka areas and maintain supply. Shutting down the two substations at the one time and using the generators in their place is unique. Northpower’s specialist electrical fitters have also taken this opportunity to carry out maintenance in the substations while they are not is use.

“We have brought in five generators (one 500 kilowatt and four 350 kilowatt) to provide voltage support and maintain existing supply to our consumers. In simple terms, that means there will be no supply interruptions and the power will stay on for the duration of the job,” he says

Holland says a secure supply is paramount for the farming community. Northpower has worked closely with the local farmers to ensure the work does not disrupt normal farming activity such as milking.

We will start and finish outside of normal milking hours to work in with them. The local farmers have been great, helping us with access to the lines and things like that. Their support has enabled us to ensure a more reliable supply to the entire community,” Holland says.

Passmore says the benefits of Northpower’s growth and expansion over the last few years is obvious with the Whangarei depot being able to pull in resources from Maungaturoto, Dargaville, and Silverdale to tackle the job.

Our growth has given us significant resources. Not only do we have the support of the immediate depots but the others like Auckland and Hamilton are just a stones throw away. We are now a significant electrical contracting company in NZ and that benefits us all,” Passmore says.

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