Transpower, New Zealand, received the Electricity Commission’s final decision to approve the North Auckland and Northland (NAaN) Project. The project, worth up to $473 million, involves installing 37 km of 220-kV underground cable from Pakuranga to Penrose, then through the CBD and onto Albany.
Transpower CEO, Dr Patrick Strange says this is good news for Auckland. “The benefit of this project is it provides an additional and separate line into North Auckland and Northland, reducing the risk of an event taking out electricity to the north of Auckland”, says Dr. Strange. “Although this is a very low probability event, the impact would be large.” “Transpower and lines company Vector have worked together on this project, along with the close cooperation of local councils, so this is a very pleasing result for all involved.”
The cable will provide greater security of supply to Penrose, the CBD, the North Shore, Northland and the Far North. The NAaN project has an anticipated commissioning date of 2014.
