The Client:
Transpower, New Zealand’s Transmission Network Operator, is responsible for managing the national grid and ensuring a reliable power supply across the country.
Transpower provides the infrastructure and market systems that connects electricity generators to major electricity users and distribution networks that deliver electricity to homes and businesses around New Zealand.
Transpower needed to replace an aging conductor that had reached the end of its life. This section of the line runs through urban West Auckland and had a lot of joints, raising concerns about their condition.
Their Needs:
Transpower came to us because they needed to replace the aging conductor in a challenging urban environment with limited space and existing infrastructure. The initial project plan was for 10 spans, but upon review, it became clear that the critical issues were within just 2 spans. This allowed us to focus on these specific spans. The challenge was to access and layout the machinery and rigging in a confined area constrained by a tower, a motorway, and a cycleway.
What We Did:
We began by asking critical questions and conducting a site visit to understand the potential and constraints. We provided innovative design solutions to initially decrease the construction scope and undertook a complex design to provide reconductoring protection over a number of houses, roads, and low voltage lines. We worked closely with the construction contractor to think creatively about how to access and layout the machinery and rigging in the confined area. This plan involved moving the bottom two phases up to the middle cross arm to provide enough room for construction, ensuring no interruption to the local power supply. All done with CSS – Catenary Support System – an approach to the crossing protection in urban environments. Our team was onsite during construction to ensure the contractors built as per our plan and to quickly resolve any issues that arose.
The Results:
The construction was completed with no issues and within the timeframe. Our approach significantly reduced the cost to Transpower by focusing only on the spans that were needed. The contractors mentioned that this was one of the most complicated jobs they had to do. We ensured the work met clearance and design tolerances, providing quality assurance and ensuring the power supply worked safely
By working with the contractor and leveraging our technical expertise, we were able to develop and design a reconductoring solution that provided a safe and effective solution for a dual circuit line in urban west Auckland.
