Dodgy cable fitted in at least 15 Auckland buildings to be banned in NZ

By Carla Penman

WorkSafe has banned a potentially dangerous cable from being manufactured, imported, sold and installed in New Zealand.

Two prohibition notices have today been posted online in the New Zealand Gazette about the TPS cable marked with the certificate number: EESS-150102-0.

It's the same cable that WorkSafe warned all electrical workers across the country about on August 14 last year, telling them not to install it and to report it if they found it on sites.

Tests had found the cable to be "significantly non-compliant" and that its insulation could become brittle and break within three to five years. The life span of such a cable is usually 45 years.

The notices state the cable may have been imported and or may have been installed by Lyon Electrical or other contractors.

Lyon Electrical, an Auckland-based company which had been operating since 2009, went into receivership on August 2 last year. The company is still under investigation by WorkSafe.

It's understood that at least 15 buildings around Auckland were fitted with the cable by Lyon Electrical.

NZH Focus revealed some of those buildings last year, which included the Park Residences on Albert St, the Albany Stadium Pool, OneThree Cheshire apartments, Redmond Apartments and the Everil Orr Retirement Village. All have since had the faulty cable ripped out and replaced.

Comment has been sought from Lyon Electrical's director Ben Lyon.

The prohibition on the cable won't come into effect until May 2022.