Otahuhu switchgear for New Zealand's Transpower Commissioned

Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Right Honourable John Key opened Transpowers Otahuhu second substation on the 19th August, marking the completion of the Otahuhu 220 kV Substation Diversity Project.

Transpower has completed the Otahuhu substation project to increase diversity to the Auckland region. The Otahuhu substation is a critical node in Transpowers network - a third of New Zealands power supply is currently supplied through this one site.

Alstom Grid built the new gas insulated switchgear (GIS) substation as a turnkey project utilising its specialist GIS switchgear technology. The project was built by Alstom Grids Systems Group based in Homebush but used local NZ based contractors to carry out all civil works and switchgear installation activities.

This project involved over 300 people and over 300,000 work hours at a live substation, without any lost time injuries. Safety is one of Transpowers core values. The safety culture fostered in this project has set the benchmark for future work. The Otahuhu project is the first of around NZD 1.7 (AUD 1.33) billion worth of transmission projects Transpower has underway to reinforce its network into and across Auckland.

The project involved the construction of a new 220 kV indoor GIS substation, physically separate from the existing Otahuhu substation. The new indoor substation is a combination of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and an outdoor switchyard.

The project was hailed as a success by Transpower due to the excellent safety record of zero lost time injuries throught the project.

Contacts
Alstom Grid in New Zealand
Kevin Hart, Country Sales Director
Tel: +64 4 460 5289 / Mobile: +64 21 807 446 www.alstom.com.au 

Press contact
Gabrielle Ambraisse (Alstom Grid in Eastern Asia & Pacific)
Tel : +61 2 9739 3006
gabrielle.ambraisse@areva-td.com
www.alstom.com.au