Growth powers investment

Residents between Matakana and Leigh are being promised “fewer and shorter outages” when a new substation, being built on Leigh Road, is turned on in August.

Known as the Big Omaha substation, it will have a capacity of 12 megawatts, which is the equivalent electricity demand of roughly 6000 homes on a winter’s evening. Vector says it took into account several factors when choosing the site for the new substation.

This included the fact that the Warkworth area is a key development zone for more homes in the near future and existing customers in this area were experiencing outages following weather incidents.

“This part of the network is one we have been focusing on for some time,” a spokesperson says.

“Additional major investments are planned in the next five years including new substations at Sandspit and Warkworth south, and the installation of cables between Wellsford and Warkworth, currently under construction.

“In the longer term, the plan is to establish a substation at Mahurangi, to the north of Warkworth, and upgrade the high voltage supply.”

Vector says the new substation on Leigh Road is a continuation of a significant network investment for the area to meet the growing customer demand and maintain reliability as the area continues to develop.