A recent warning issued to Aurora Energy by the Commerce Commission over power outages in 2020 draws a ‘final line’ on the electrical lines company’s past performance, Aurora says. 

In a letter made public on November 1 the Commerce Commission said it had considered the full range of enforcement responses, including penalties, for Aurora Energy’s 2020 network quality standard breaches, but ultimately decided to issue a warning.

It noted Aurora Energy had made “significant investment to remedy the situation and committed to continuing to invest in its network”.

 Aurora Energy CEO Dr Richard Fletcher said 2020 was a “transitional year” for Aurora Energy. 

“I’m pleased to say we’ve met all our commitments in the 2021 and 2022 regulatory years and we will continue to meet them going forward,” he said.

The electrical lines company historically under invested in its network, causing deterioration and repeated quality standards breaches, but in the past few years it has started on a new investment programme to improve the quality and reliability of the network.

The Commerce Commission said the previous penalties against Aurora act as a deterrent to similar underinvestment by Aurora Energy or other suppliers in the future, and an additional penalty would not significantly strengthen this deterrence.

It warned Aurora Energy that it would continue to monitor its network.

Aurora Energy provides electricity to over 92,000 homes, farms and businesses in Otago. 

See also: ‘Aurora Energy has ‘come a long way’