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Transpower is expected to face questions down the track on the vulnerability of its crippled Redclyffe substation.
Transpower says it has now been able to provide enough electricity to Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay to restore power to about 90,000 homes.
But it said Napier lines company Unison Networks had advised there were still 40,800 homes without power in Hawke’s Bay, including 31,700 homes in Napier.
The national grid operator has been working with Unison and Gisborne-based Eastland Networks to re-route power to homes and businesses in the region after its Redclyffe substation in Taradale in Napier was flooded on Tuesday.
Prior to the cyclone most power to the Napier region flowed through the substation.
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Transpower was able to gain access to the crippled Redclyffe substation on Wednesday.
“An initial assessment indicates that there is extensive damage after floodwaters reached heights exceeding 1.5 metres inside the control room,” it said in statement on Thursday.
Footage from a helicopter taken by rescuers Kelvin and Cam Taylor over Hawke’s Bay.
Transpower said that given the damage and the time it would probably take to repair the substation, it was now focussing on bypassing the substation by running the high voltage 220KV power line that feeds it to a different substation in Whakatu, north-east of Hastings.
“We have been working with local lines company Unison on this bypass option and expect to be able to provide an update later today on when it will be completed,” it said.
Transpower looks likely to face questions over the vulnerability of the Redclyffe substation after the crisis is over.
Chief executive Alison Andrew told RNZ on Wednesday that the substation was designed in 1927 and refurbished in the 1970s and was designed to withstand a “one in 100 year” flood.
But she revealed Transpower had since been building some substations to a higher standard, saying one built in Auckland in 2013 had been designed to withstand a “one in 450 year” flooding event.
Transpower had sought permission from the Commerce Commission to invest $100 million on upgrades between 2025 and 2030 that would improve the resilience of its networks, she said.
Transpower could not immediately confirm whether that included work that would reduce its reliance on the Redcliffe substation.
The state-owned enterprise needs permission from the competition regulator for such investments because of the way it is regulated and charges customers.
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