On August 19th, 2010, Transpower, New Zealand’s Transmission utility, inaugurated the Otahuhu 220 kV Gas-Insulated Substation in the presence of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Right Honourable John Key.
Transpower NZ Limited owns and operates New Zealand’s National Grid - the network consists of 178 substations and 11,800 km’s of HV transmission lines, and connects approximately 4.24m consumers via 29 local distribution companies.
Transpower completed the Otahuhu substation project to increase diversity to the Auckland region. The Otahuhu substation is a critical node in Transpower’s network - a third of New Zealand’s power supply is currently supplied through this one site.
Alstom Grid’s solution
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 Grid’s Systems Group based in Homebush but used local NZ based contractors to carry out all civil works and switchgear installation activities.
Fast facts
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 Transpower’s core values. The safety culture fostered in this project has set the benchmark for future work. The Otahuhu project is the first of around NZ$1.7 billion worth of transmission projects Transpower has underway to reinforce its network into and across Auckland.