Power cuts unacceptable - Mayor

Media Release

30 October 2009

Power cuts unacceptable - Mayor

The power outage that affected much of the north this morning calls into question again the security of electricity supply north of the Harbour Bridge, according to the Rodney District Council.

The council has repeatedly called the current situation unacceptable and Rodney’s mayor Penny Webster says the lack of action on the matter is another case of the “forgotten north” – as far as the powers that be in the south are concerned.

Mrs Webster says the council fully supported Transpower when in 2008 the grid company sought approval from the NZ Electricity Commission to upgrade and reinforce the power supply to North Auckland and Northland by installing a new cable connection between Penrose and Albany sub-stations.

The Council specifically pointed out in its submission to the Electricity Commission that all of regions north of the Harbour Bridge are vulnerable to power outages if Transpower is not permitted to add additional lines.

“We believed then, and this has been illustrated today, that any meltdown south of the Harbour Bridge can affect vast areas in the north and, if prolonged, can have a major impact on our economy,” she explained.

“Transpower’s new cable connection isn’t the complete answer, though it would have helped. But even that was rejected by the Electricity Commission.”

Mayor Webster describes the commission’s rejection as illogical and short-sighted, and is calling for a major review of the issue in the light of today’s outage.

ENDS

© Scoop Media