Powering Whakamaru Village

1 October 2024

The Lines Company (TLC) will be installing new electrical infrastructure in Whakamaru village in October.

“This significant upgrade will ensure that everyone in Whakamaru village has a more reliable power supply,” says TLC project manager Steven Stables. “Electricity is an essential part of everyday life and connecting you to it, is our job.”

Whakamaru village was originally established as accommodation for workers of the Whakamaru Power Station (Hydro Power Station) around 70 years ago. The electrical infrastructure supporting Whakamaru was not intended to last forever nor cater for the increasing demand of modern households.

To future-proof the supply of power to residents for years to come, electrical equipment in the Village needs to be brought up to modern standard – this will require the replacement of transformers, pillar boxes and cabling. Our project will also improve backup supplies, meaning in the event of an unplanned outage, the time to restore power will be reduced.

“This upgrade project is part of our commitment to ensuring safe, reliable and affordable electricity to the area is delivered for generations to come,” said TLC chief executive Mike Fox.

The project involves reducing the number of ground-mounted transformers in the Village, upgrading cables to allow for increased household load, and installing pillar boxes outside every property in the village.

To complete the project work required safely and to minimise future unplanned outages, a series of short, planned outages will be necessary. These will be notified by your electricity retailer.

“Project completion is intended prior to Christmas,” continued Stables. “On site disruption will include digging across driveways, installing new underground cables to your house and installing pillar boxes. All areas will be reinstated.”