A new underground electricity cable should improve power supply security for parts of the Whakatipu.
Last year, Aurora Energy started upgrading the Arrowtown 33kV distribution line which runs from Frankton to Malaghans Rd.
Arrowtown, Arthurs Point, Coronet Peak, Dalefield, Gibbston and The Remarkables ski area were previously supplied by two power lines that shared the load between them, with limited access to an alternative electricity supply if there was an outage.
The issues came to a head last winter when more than 2300 customers, including Coronet Peak, were left without power three times in three weeks, due to unexpected faults and tripping.
Aurora service delivery GM Richard Starkey says the new 33kV underground cable provides increased capacity to cater to the ‘‘significant growth and new development’’ expected in the area.
That’s good news for local customers, businesses and, in particular, skifields, he says.
‘‘[It] will reduce the risk of significant outages due to more options to reconfigure the network if there is a widespread outage, thereby reducing the number of customers impacted.’’
Starkey says the new cable will also help with the increasing demand for power as more people move away from fossil fuels.
‘‘More and more people are purchasing EVs and wanting more choice about how they use electricity, such as connecting solar to their home or business.’’
Aurora’s also been completing a large programme of work in Arrowtown and surrounds as part of its five-year, $500 million investment programme to upgrade the network.
That’ll see a rebuild of the Arrowtown and Dalefield substations, a reconfiguration of the Arrowtown 11kV distribution line and the creation of Coronet Peak to Dalefield back-feed supply to provide power to either zone substation in a power outage.
