Transpower is being called on to act urgently after an investigation into the downed pylon found the power company had failed to act ahead its collapse.
Video / Mark Mitchell
Transpower is being called on to act urgently after an investigation into the downed pylon found the power company had failed to act ahead of its collapse.
Almost 90,000 people across Northland were left without power after the pylon holding Transpower’s two 220-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines into Northland toppled over on a farm near Glorit, south of Wellsford, on June 20.
An Electricity Authority investigation, led by lawyer Sarah Sinclair, found several key failures including an “overreliance by Transpower on service providers to ensure that critical assets are maintained”, according to Energy Minister Simeon Brown.
Minister responsible for State-Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith says he has confidence in Transpower’s board but won’t give his view on whether compensation is warranted as the company remains opposed to compensating affected residents and businesses.
It comes as National’s Northland MP calls for some form of financial compensation and NZ First minister Shane Jones demanding those responsible at Transpower be sent to the “knacker’s yard”.
Today’s report included the already-known finding that the pylon tipped after the removal of the nuts on the tower’s baseplates.
Energy Minister Simeon Brown says Transpower failed to act on prior warnings, seen here with investigation lead Sarah Sinclair. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It also found a Transpower senior engineer in 2021 had raised concerns about a “gap in the knowledge of maintenance crews” but calls for improvement were not acted on by Transpower.
“Transpower failing to act on these opportunities has led to terrible consequences for the people of Northland but there is also evidence that the removal of all nuts from more than one tower leg was not a one-off event,” Brown said.
“These are incredibly concerning findings, and the report identifies a number of recommendations that I expect Transpower will fully accept and act with urgency to address.”
Within the 26 recommendations, Sinclair proposed Transpower improve processes for maintenance work for baseplate refurbishment, ensure contractors were properly trained and regularly report on non-compliance from service providers.
She also recommended the Electricity Authority assess options to “amend the Electricity Code to allow for more regional resilience through distributors able to generate more on their own network”.
The estimated cost of the incident was between $37.5 million and $80m in lost economic activity.
Transpower staff prepare to install a temporary tower for part transfer of the electricity supply into Northland following the sudden collapse of a pylon. Photo / Transpower
An earlier investigation, initiated by Transpower, found the contractors – a crew from Omexom – working on the pylon were responsible for its collapse.
“The tower fell because the Omexom crew that was performing routine baseplate maintenance work did not follow Omexom’s standard practice and removed all of the nuts from three of the tower’s four legs,” it found.
There was insufficient supervision of two less-experienced workers, who had not received any formal training for the work they were doing and were not certified by Omexom as competent for the tasks they completed unsupervised.
The “inexperienced” team member who removed the nuts from the foundation legs was also not adequately supervised while performing the task, as the team leader was engaged in sandblasting work.
Sinclair today couldn’t say how many times such a procedure was followed but it was later clarified Omexom crew had worked on at least three other sites in the month prior to the collapse.
Sinclair was also unable to elaborate on what the crew members were thinking at the time. She explained questions of that nature had been sent to Omexom but they weren’t answered due to matters of legal privilege, according to Sinclair. She did not explain why that made her unable to probe further.
Transpower, Omexom apologise again but no moves to offer compensation
Both Transpower and Omexom reiterated apologies following the report’s release but the former’s position on compensating those who lost power has not changed.
Transpower executive general manager of grid delivery Mark Ryall said the report’s recommendations had been accepted, claiming they were “generally in line” with actions proposed in the previous report.
He said Transpower was engaging with Northland power distributors Northpower and Top Energy to form a regional resilience plan and cited his commitment to “rebuilding relationships in the region”.
Ryall accepted Transpower had to adapt to ensure such an incident didn’t occur again. However, he also maintained the “core of the issue” was the Omexom crew’s “failure to follow standard practice”.
Omexom managing director Mornez Green claimed his company had left “no stone unturned” in a wide-ranging review following the incident, focused on ensuring staff fully understood procedures as well as establishing industry-leading supervision and monitoring processes.
“If this sounds like it is ‘back-to-basics’ that is correct. We are absolutely committed to make all necessary changes. It is essential that this event, rare as it was, is never repeated,” Green said.
Transpower’s statement didn’t address the possibility of compensation for those who suffered following the loss of power.
Following the collapse amid calls for compensation, Transpower did acknowledge compensation could be available under the Consumer Guarantees Act, but it later cited current legislation that said Transpower didn’t have to guarantee power supply.
Brown referenced Transpower’s earlier remarks today when he said the comments had led to “significant confusion”.
The Herald has confirmed Transpower’s stance has not changed following today’s report.
Northland MP Grant McCallum had called on Transpower to provide some form of financial compensation and he reiterated that today.
“The least Transpower can do is make the goodwill payment I have proposed, of at least seven figures to Northland communities, in recognition of the harm and disruption suffered due to their failings.
“This was not just a case of a contractor making an error, but of Transpower’s systemic and cultural failure to do its job.”
Minister still confident in Transpower board
Goldsmith, who had ministerial responsibility for Transpower as a state-owned enterprise, said he’d had a conversation with Transpower board chairman Dr Keith Turner, who had assured Goldsmith recommendations were being acted on.
Minister for State Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith wouldn't give his view on the question of compensation. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Goldsmith said he expected a more fulsome response to the report once the board had considered it
“We retain confidence in the board but we were very concerned about it.”
He wouldn’t give his view on whether compensation was required, saying it was an issue for Transpower to consider.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon echoed Goldsmith’s comments on compensation, but did acknowledge the “alarming” report findings.
Jones, also from Northland, said “of course” affected residents and businesses deserved compensation and he called on Transpower to punish the “weak link” responsible.
“The new chief executive officer should find out who failed and send them to the knacker’s yard.”
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
