MEDIA RELEASE
19 November 2010
WEL Networks Completes New Electricity Line Build, Raglan
WEL Networks announced today it has officially completed construction of its new 25 kilometre electricity line, which
connects the Te Uku wind farm near Raglan with its substations.
The $14 million project, which includes eight kilometers of undergrounding, was constructed in just 31 weeks. It is the
largest new line build project ever undertaken by WEL Networks and the largest line build project by an electricity
distribution company in New Zealand this year.
The line build was completed in October and line commissioning, which marked the end of the project, finished this week.
Dr Julian Elder, Chief Executive of WEL Networks, says the new line is an important component of the upgrade work the
company is implementing on its western network.
“This new line build not only connects the Te Uku wind farm with our substations, it is also an important part of WEL
Networks strategy to increase the reliability and security of supply in the greater Raglan area,” he explains.
WEL Networks’ Western Network Upgrade began in 2005 and will be largely completed by 2013. The upgrade work includes
eleven separate projects, such as building new substations and upgrading others, upgrading existing lines and installing
new lines both above and below ground.
“These projects have already resulted in fewer outages and better quality of supply in the area, and these improvements
will get even better as the western network upgrade work is progressed.
“Security of supply is also increasing in the greater Raglan area. That’s because part of our upgrade work involves
building back-up systems so that if one part of our western network is down, other parts take over and power stays on,”
explains Dr Elder.
As part of its western network upgrade, WEL Networks began a new project this week, which involves maintenance and
upgrading work on six kilometers of existing line between Cogswell Road, east of Raglan, and Whatawhata, just west of
Hamilton. The upgrade work involves replacing old wires on the current line with new wire.
ENDS