Energy distributor Powerco is spending nearly $15 million to boost electricity supply to the Coromandel.

An $8.6 million infrastructure project is under way to power up Coromandel township in the event of an outage and support electricity supply during busy holiday periods.

Powerco is spending another $6.1m in Matarangi, also on the Coromandel Peninsula, to provide extra power to the town during peak visitor periods.

The energy distributor is installing two 2.5MVA generators within the Thames Coromandel District Council’s water treatment site on Whangapoua Rd which it says will have the capacity to power about 3000 homes and businesses.

The work to make the generators fully operational, including installing associated switchgear and enabling them to turn on automatically in an outage, is expected to be completed during September.

They are expected to be fully operational during September.

Powerco general manager electricity Karen Frew says, as with other townships on their network that had been chosen for backup generation, Coromandel township was identified as it was susceptible to power outages with only one power source feeding the area, meaning Powerco could not reroute power from another line if power was cut to the community.

“These generators will help to secure the community’s power supply; they will turn on automatically if there is a power outage.

“For example, if the only power feed to Coromandel township is affected by an outage from the likes of storm damage, car versus pole or damaged equipment, the generators will power homes and businesses in the town until the main power line is repaired.”

Meanwhile, in Matarangi, Powerco is installing a single generator on Matarangi Dr, at the eastern end of the town’s transfer station, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

As Matarangi had a backup electricity line feeding into the township, the generator was specifically designed to provide extra power to the town during peak visitor periods, Karen says.

The generator would have the capacity to power about 2900 homes and businesses.

“As there are already backup electricity supply options for Matarangi in the event of a power outage, this generator is designed specifically for covering peak demand, such as during busy summer holiday periods.

“More people, means more demand for power, particularly at peak times when you are usually using electricity, like over breakfast or in the early evening when your family is home for dinner and turning appliances on.”

Karen confirmed the Matarangi site had been budgeted at $6.1m, “a fraction of the cost of a whole new route for power lines and poles traversing Coromandel Peninsula’s tricky terrain”.

“During the past few years, through consultation, our Coromandel Peninsula customers have told us they want a reliable electricity network at the lowest cost and the Coromandel and Matarangi generators will help deliver that.

The Coromandel Peninsula town was one of five communities on Powerco’s network to receive emergency backup electricity supply to date.

Whangamōmona in eastern Taranaki, Castlepoint and Riversdale Beach in Wairarapa, and Himatangi Beach in the Whanganui-Manawatū region have also received generation.

“Natural disasters like we felt in Cyclone Gabrielle leave communities like Coromandel, who only have one power line supplying the town, so no backup if there’s an outage, potentially isolated, with limited access for our crews to repair any damage to poles and lines. Installing generation means there’s a backup supply ready to go if the worst happens.”

Karen says Powerco was also working with emergency management and community leaders throughout its electricity footprint, including Coromandel Peninsula, to establish community energy resilience projects.

“In an emergency, local marae and rural halls become community hubs, which need to continue to be powered even if the rest of the area is without electricity.”

-Waikato News