Firstlight Network operations manager George Drysdale says creating resilience and connectedness across the Tairawhiti and Wairoa communities was important to him and the Firstlight team. Photo / Firstlight Network
Firstlight Network operations manager George Drysdale says creating resilience and connectedness across the Tairawhiti and Wairoa communities was important to him and the Firstlight team. Photo / Firstlight Network
A new zone substation for Māhia and improvements to existing substations across Wairoa and Gisborne are part of Firstlight Network’s plans for investment in its electrical assets to ensure greater capacity, reliability and resilience of infrastructure in the coming years.
The electricity supplier to the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa regions gained a new operation manager early this year, George Drysdale, who hails from Wairoa and returned to his home region after 28 years working in the electricity sector.
“I quickly realised how tirelessly the Firstlight Network team and its contractors – including Electrinet – all work together throughout extreme weather events to restore the power and keep it on,” Drysdale said.
“I also saw firsthand the vital role the Firstlight team plays in the region’s recovery efforts alongside Tairāwhiti Civil Defence, the community and iwi groups across Tairāwhiti and Wairoa. Everyone has also shown incredible resilience over this time.”
Creating resilience and connectedness across the Tairawhiti and Wairoa communities is important to him and the Firstlight team.
“Regional energy resilience is our focus and we’re committed to ensuring Firstlight Network continues to contribute to the prosperity and wellbeing of the region now and in the future.”
Drysdale said Firstlight’s RY24 Asset Management Plan submission to the Commerce Commission indicated a “stepped” change process through regulatory years 2024 and 2025.
Compared with the 2023 forecasts, electrical asset lifecycle management capital expenditure has increased by about $25 million over the coming 10 years, while network development capital expenditure has increased by $8.3m and operating expenditure is up by about $19m.
Drysdale said he could not comment on predecessor Eastland Network’s plan, but most of the changes in Firstlight Network’s plan related to the renewal of overhead assets, dealing with geohazards and refurbishing ageing assets.
The asset renewal programme includes transformers, circuit breakers, ring main units, pole replacements and the 110KV towers across the region.
Drysdale said Firstlight was undertaking a multi-year plan to support power reliability and an expansion in Māhia.
“A transformer has been purchased, along with equipment to establish a new zone substation,” he said.
“We will increase the transformer capacity at Blacks Pad from 1.5MVA to 2.5MVA, establish remotely operated sectionalisers to provide flexibility when dealing with faults in the area, followed by the establishment of a new substation in the YMCA Rd area to meet future demand requirements and manage [the] current seasonal demand loading profile.”
A moratorium on new power connections has been in place on the Māhia Peninsula because peak demand is above the area’s transformer and line capacity.
Drysdale said Firstlight’s plan would not enable significant development in the Māhia area, but it would provide increased load capability.
George Drysdale says Firstlight Network is undertaking a multi-year plan to support power reliability and an expansion in Māhia, which includes establishing a new zone substation. Photo / Firstlight Network
For Wairoa, he said they planned to reconfigure the Wairoa and Kiwi substations in several stages over the next 10 years to improve resilience and network security during severe weather events.
Other potential opportunities for improvements include a capacitor bank upgrade at the Gisborne substation to better maintain network voltage and a thermal upgrade (increasing the height of some high-voltage poles to increase the clearance between the conductors and the ground) of the transmission lines to maintain future growth demands.
