Aurora gear replacement after report

LINES company Aurora Energy says it expects to accelerate plans to replace higher risk equipment following a report that criticises obsolete technology and incomplete maintenance.

The full version of the independent engineering review of the network by WSP followed the release of an executive summary late last month.

The report said most of the Dunedin City Councilowned company’s assets posed a small risk to public safety, reliability or the environment, similar to other networks in New Zealand.

However, many protection system assets, used to detect a failure resulting in a flow of electrical current larger than normal, or a flow to the ground, were beyond their nominal life, employed obsolete technology and had incomplete maintenance.

The company’s pole inspection programme had recently been improved, but had not identified all poles that were in poor condition as the programme had not yet covered the whole network.

Pole crossarms were not inspected adequately and many were in poor condition.

‘‘Some are categorised as high risk due to their location relative to population and probability of failure.’’

Aurora chief executive Richard Fletcher said yesterday the company would use the report’s findings as it continued its programme to renew the network.

The company’s asset management plan, released earlier this year, included a focus on maintaining an accelerated pole renewal and strengthening programme.

The full report would be considered in detail as the company prepared its asset management plan for next year.

That was expected to include an accelerated programme to replace higherrisk protection relays.