Almost 700 customers in the Omakau area will soon benefit from a new electricity substation with a larger transformer thanks to Aurora Energy.

The company held a public meeting last week to inform residents of its work strengthening the electricity supply and future proofing the network.

The project would not only replace aging equipment, but double the capacity of the substation, ensuring it was adequate to meet the demand growth of the community.

The current substation on the Ida Valley-Omakau Road was in a flood risk area with no room for expansion. The upgraded substation has been relocated to a new site, next to the Omakau stockyards on Lauder-Omakau Road.

The project was due to be completed in the middle of last year but the company said large infrastructure projects can sometimes take longer than planned due to procurement and shipping delays.

The current substation would be decommissioned and removed once the new substation is up and running, apart from its surrounding power poles. 

Inside the new substation which will be officially commissioned in mid-February. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.

General manager service delivery Richard Starkey said 40 people attended the drop-in session at Omakau and they were pleased with the turnout.

“There were a number of questions raised about the new zone substation and we were able to inform people that it will be commissioned mid-February. 

“Although this is behind schedule, we are pleased it is nearing completion. 

“Once operational, we can reconfigure the network into four new feeders (currently there is only one feeder). This will help minimise the number of customers impacted by faults, depending on where the fault may occur, and provide more options for planned maintenance on the

network. 

This work should be completed during March.”

Richard said there was also interest in the generator at the new substation. 

“We clarified that the generator is primarily for use during planned power outages. While it may be used during extended unplanned outages to provide back-up supply to some customers in the central Omakau area, it is often faster to fix the fault than getting a qualified person to site to operate it.”

A couple of people mentioned voltage fluctuations, which could be an issue for some customers who were further away from the substation. 

“When the original line was installed between 1953 and 1968, there was little to no powered irrigation in the area. Now, pumps are the major load and can draw up to six times their normal load. To address this, we installed voltage regulators in 2022 from Chesterman Road towards Devonshire Road."

The Omakau area was fed via a single supply line from Alexandra, meaning there was no back-up supply. Installing a second line would be prohibitively expensive, with a significant impact on local line charges. 

“We have invested in substantial upgrades and asset renewal in the Omakau area over the last few years and have more work planned. This includes power pole repairs later this year on the main supply line from Alexandra to Omakau, and power line (conductor) replacement

over the next few years on 28km of power lines in the area.

“We’d like to thank everyone who came to speak with us and will continue to have a spotlight on the area as we want to continue to improve the service we provide.”

For anybody that missed the drop-in session, Aurora would have a stand at the Central Otago A&P Show in Omakau on February 8, with representatives available.

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