6 | ENERGY Aurora Energy: NZ Energy Awards Community focus impresses judges T Kim Newth The technically challenging project involved replacing six old lattice towers and overhead lines between Port Chalmers and Portobello with new submarine cables. Aurora Energy’s community focussed approach impressed the judges at the recent 2022 New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards. New Zealand’s seventh largest electricity network by customer connections picked up two awards for their outstanding Harbour Crossing project. The judges were impressed with how Aurora Energy had incorporated community feedback while also delivering on economic, technical and safety outcomes, as well as creating tourism, commercial and environmental benefits for the region. Winning national awards in both the ‘Network Initiative of the Year’ and ‘Community Initiative of the Year’ categories is an achievement that Aurora Energy has been proud to share with its community. The ambitious, technically challenging project involved replacing six old lattice towers and overhead lines between Port Chalmers and Portobello with new submarine cables. Innovative thinking to find a new technical solution and community collaboration were key drivers behind the project’s success. Aurora Energy Chief Executive Richard Fletcher says the upgrade work has not only improved security of electricity for residents, but also brought wider benefits for shipping, tourism and wildlife by clearing a passageway for birdlife and commercial vessels. “We worked in partnership with mana whenua, the Island Keeper on Quarantine Island/Kamau Taura, Port Otago, University of Otago’s Marine Studies Centre, the Department of Conservation, Dunedin City Council, a resident in Port Chalmers who was very happy to have a tower removed from his garden, and the wider community when planning this project, and they all supported it.” While replacing the assets like for like would have been the easier solution, he says community engagement had paved the way to the best engineering solution on this once in a lifetime project. Another way in which Aurora Energy is demonstrating its community focus is its commitment to find partners to help drive Aotearoa’s efforts towards a decarbonised energy future. As the local electricity distribution network for Central Otago, Queenstown Lakes and Dunedin, Aurora Energy is looking hard at their role in the electrification of the economy and what they need to do now to service changing communities’ needs. Local commu- “We worked in partnership with mana whenua, the Island Keeper on Quarantine Island/Kamau Taura, Port Otago, University of Otago’s Marine Studies Centre, the Department of Conservation, Dunedin City Council ... and the wider community when planning this project, and they all supported it.” nities are moving fast towards new uses of technology, such as driving electric vehicles and generating their own electricity. In a New Zealand first, Aurora Energy has partnered with a local solar energy specialist, solarZero, to support their Wānaka and Upper Clutha customers with an affordable option to install solar panels and a smart battery to their homes. It enables Aurora Energy to defer spending of up to $25 million on upgrading power lines from Cromwell to Wānaka, as well as fast tracking the use of technology that could help New Zealand meet its climate change goals. Aurora Energy plans to extend their use of such non-network solutions – those that do not involve poles and lines – in the Upper Clutha and beyond. As Dr Fletcher observes, this not only delays spending on traditional electricity infrastructure but also helps keep prices more affordable for consumers. Aurora is part of the South Island Distribution Group that is currently looking at the future of electricity distribution management, including how non-network solutions could be used in future as part of a network management mix. For all your electrical contracting and servicing requirements: 0800 768 9300 | electronet.co.nz Central Otago West Coast Tasman Taranaki Proud to partner with Aurora Energy for the Harbour Crossing Project.
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