Underground power line route released

Transpower has confirmed a final route for a 9km section of transmission line under southeast Auckland, but still faces strong opposition to running pylons across the Bombay Hills.

The state-owned power grid operator will lay the Auckland end of a 400,000-volt line from the central North Island under stormwater runoff land owned by Manukau City Council, between East Tamaki Rd and Chapel Rd en route to its Otahuhu substation.

This is a slight variation from a second preference, which would have meant greater social impact and traffic disruption by running the line beneath Accent Drive and a larger portion of East Tamaki Rd than will be affected by the final plan.

The organisation has budgeted $90 million to bury the last section of its proposed 200km transmission link from Whakamaru, but hopes to keep the cost of the overall project to about $460m by running the rest of the line over power pylons up to 70m high.

Acting public affairs general manager Chris Roberts said last night that an extension of the underground line to the south of the Bombay Hills, as demanded by hundreds of residents and Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis, would add $250 million to the bill.

But Sir Barry said he believed a proper cost-benefit analysis taking into account burgeoning land costs would find that the price of going underground would not be much different than for ruining some of New Zealand's "most magnificent rural landscape".

He accused Transpower of planning degradation on an unprecedented scale, and called for the Government to conduct the sort of rigorous social, environmental and economic analysis he said was once demanded of major projects.

"New Zealand is the last paradise on Earth and we as leaders of today have got to ensure it is safeguarded for future generations.