Vector Network News

NETWORK SUMMARY for week ending 17 March 2013

ELECTRICITY

While Sunday’s rain brought welcome relief to farmers and gardeners alike, it caused a few problems for our faults crews as they responded to multiple car v poles and tree branches bringing down lines.

The rain and wind brought lines down due to debris in Manurewa, Onehunga, Laingholm and Waimauku. Branches also struck lines in both Remuera and Matakana causing outages and there were four car v poles due to the greasy road conditions, two in Whangapararoa, with the others in Manukau and Alfriston.

The rest of the week saw a further three car vs pole incidents. One incident in Papakura North, left the pole on a lean and the lines hanging low. By the time fault crews arrived at the scene the driver, along with their vehicle, had fled from the incident site.

Feeder faults caused power outages in Newton, Glenn Innes, Avondale, Dairy Flat and Whangaparoa.

Crews were called to isolate the power supply following fires in Clover Park and Central Auckland.

There were two incidents where overhead power lines were brought down by third party strikes. The incidents, in Mt Wellington and Glendowie, were caused by equipment on trucks coming into contact with the lines and subsequently bringing the lines down.

GAS DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION

There were six third party strikes on our gas distribution network last week. Five were caused by contractors and one by a customer excavating on the boundary of their property.

There was a smell of gas reported in Papatoetoe West. Crews investigated, identified the location of the leak and repaired the affected gas line.

Please take care around our gas network and call 0508 B4 U WORK (248 967) or 0800 B4 U DIG if outside Auckland.

PROJECTS

Hillsborough Reinforcement Project achieves half-way milestone

Vector’s Hillsborough Reinforcement project has reached the halfway mark. The two-year project involves installation of a new underground cable and reinforcement a major zone substation in Hillsborough to ensure continued security of electricity supply in the future for the approximately 5,000 customers in the area services by the substation.

The project has been challenging, covering a five kilometre route that traverses major arterial roads, motorway off ramps, cycle ways, bus lanes, a school, a fire station, a popular park and a golf course. The laying of underground ducts has been completed and the majority of cables have been pulled through these ducts to allow the sub-transmission cable connection from Transpower’s substation on White Swan Road via Richardson Road, Dominion Road, the cycle way of Keith Hay Park, underneath State Highway 20 through to the Hillsborough zone substation on Hillsborough Road to be effected. The next phase of work covers the renovation of the existing Vector substation building on Hillsborough Road including the installation of a new transformer. The project is scheduled for completion by winter 2014, but is currently running ahead of schedule and is likely to be completed at the end of the year (2013).

SHORTS

· Vector owns over 17,700 km of overhead and underground lines in the greater Auckland area, and 12,700 km of gas pipe lines, almost half of which supply gas to Auckland.

· Neil Young brings his veteran backing band Crazy Horse with him to Vector Arena for a show that promises to showcase both new material from their recently released album ‘Psychedelic Pill’ and the classic hits that helped make Young a household name on Thursday, 21 March.

· Vector, proud sponsor of the Arena.

Vector owns and manages a unique portfolio which consists of electricity distribution, gas transmission and distribution, electricity and gas metering installations and data management services, natural gas and LPG and fibre optic networks.

Vector is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange with ticker symbol VCT. For further information, visit www.vector.co.nz

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>