The best of New Zealand’s cable jointers and line mechanics will be going head-to-head in Invercargill in September, showing off the skills that keep the country’s electricity connected.

Annual Connection 2023, hosted by Southland’s electricity management company PowerNet Ltd, in conjunction with Connexis | Te Pūkenga, will see cable jointers and line mechanic crews compete in events that put their workplace skills to the test.

This year’s event will be held 19-21 September at Donovan Park in Invercargill, with electrical supply crews travelling from different companies around the country to participate.

Northland has a great reputation as a place where the pace of life is just a bit more laid back. The hustle and bustle – the big city stresses – seem to just drift away the more you drive North. But, don’t be fooled by the feeling of calm that washes over you as make your way around Whangārei and its coastal surrounds. This is no sleepy backwater. In fact, big things are happening in the Northland neck of the woods – things that are set to be transformational to the region’s power future.

At the heart of this push toward Northland’s new energy future is Northpower. Northpower’s electricity network spans the Whangārei and Kaipara districts, providing residential and business customers with a safe, secure, and reliable electricity distribution service. That said, Northpower is by no means a business to sit happily in the ‘status quo’ comfort zone. Their focus is firmly on the future – something clearly evident in the recent update to their Asset Management Plan.

In April, New Zealand energy services contractor Electrix began operations under its new name, Omexom.

In 2014, Electrix was acquired by VINCI Energies, a global leader in the energy sector with 90,000 employees operating in 57 countries worldwide. With this name change, Electrix strengthens its integration and affiliation with Omexom, the VINCI Energies brand dedicated to energy infrastructure.

Founded in New Zealand in 1955, Electrix established itself as a leading provider of engineering, construction, and maintenance services to asset owners in the electricity and gas utility, industrial, commercial, resources, and infrastructure sectors.

The covered single conductor forms the basis of all MV covered conductor systems. The covered conductor system, although not a touch-safe screened cable system, is designed to provide protection from initiation of flash-overs due to clashing of conductors, bird or animal incursions, and tree branches or debris which has blown or fallen on to the line, especially in conditions of severe weather and high pollution.

Spacer cable systems provides the highest form of reliability on Distribution networks. The compact configuration and the placement on one side of the pole reduces the exposure to trees. When trees or branches do come down (as shown below) the messenger wire will support the cables – ensuring uninterrupted service; until crews can get to them.

With wind recognised as a key source of renewable energy in New Zealand, that will help enable decarbonisation of the energy sector and help the country reach its net zero climate change target, wind farms represent a growing and exciting industry to be a part of.

A significant number of new wind farms are expected to be built over the next 30 years with forecast capacity increasing from 940 megawatts in 2022 to 6500 MW by 2050. With an average wind farm capacity of 100 MW, that’s around another 55 wind farms.

TotalEnergies is one of the key leaders in lubricants across the global energy landscape. TotalEnergies NZ has a range of high-quality dedicated lubricants for wind turbines, hydropower, power plants (gas, biomass, geothermal and solar). When it comes to keeping equipment reliable, reducing maintenance downtime, and optimising maintenance cost and productivity, TotalEnergies NZ provides the best cost-benefit solution to its customer.

TotalEnergies NZ is the country’s third-largest oil company, and the exclusive importer and distributor of lubricants from leading global energy producer, TotalEnergies.

Setting greenhouse gas targets is one thing. Meeting them is another. That’s why Jacobs has created Net Zero Labs. Net Zero Labs is a tailored workshop process providing clients the opportunity to draw on Jacobs’ global network of subject matter experts to pave out smart, tangible roadmaps towards their net zero commitments.

To find out more visit https://www.jacobs.com/net-zero-labs

The devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle has demonstrated how essential a robust electrical supply industry workforce is to keep New Zealand connected and operational in times of crisis, says the executive director of ESI training provider, Connexis | Te Pūkenga.

Kaarin Gaukrodger, executive director of Connexis | Te Pūkenga, New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, says Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) tradespeople and apprentices have been working through the weather elements to reconnect cut-off communities and repair broken infrastructure.

Voltage regulators are not pieces of equipment that most networks have a lot of, nor are they replaced very often. When a network needs a new regulator or is replacing an old or non-performing regulator, sourcing can be a bit of a head scratcher – especially with some manufacturers advising lead-times of 12 months or more.

US-based Howard Industries SVR-1 single-phase step voltage regulators are tap changing autotransformers designed to automatically regulate distribution line voltages in a range of plus or minus 10 per cent in 32 steps. One of the most popular and reliable voltage regulators in the US, they have been getting quite a lot of attention recently in New Zealand and Australia. Quality and reliability are the attributes most talked about – expressed as lower failure rates and consequently lower maintenance and operating costs. For example, the options of a painted stainless tank increases the life of the unit significantly over the mild steel unit, especially in coastal locations.

At Contact, we’re on a journey to decarbonise Aotearoa. Over our 25-year plus history we’ve built a flexible and largely renewable portfolio of electricity generation assets. As a company we are an integral part of daily life in New Zealand and we’re acutely aware that our every action, good and bad, has a marked impact on the wellbeing of our communities — today and in the future. In recent years we’ve invested in building our renewable, flexible and reliable generation portfolio, which has helped us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from generation by 33% since 2018, but that’s just the start. We own and operate 11 power stations, are building two more, and setting wheels in motion to move into wind and solar. Between our Tauhara build, Te Huka expansion, future developments in wind and solar, and more we can’t tell you about just yet … there is a project here you want to be a part of.

Gentrack, a next gen solution provider for utilities, has partnered with Mercury to streamline its systems and provide innovative product bundles for the firm's enlarged retail business.

In May, Mercury acquired Trustpower’s retail business, creating New Zealand’s leading multi-product utilities retail business.

Mercury will migrate customers onto the Gentrack billing system used by Trustpower; a robust multi-play platform that will support Mercury to deliver premium offers, bundles and unique solutions to its customers.

The aim to turn 30 percent of our country’s light vehicle fleet electric by 2035 will require a rapid and large-scale roll out of smart and energy efficient charging infrastructure.

If we get that national deployment right, there’s also massive upside for energy consumers and our country’s electricity system.

New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is now looking at how this charging infrastructure could be managed and controlled so it creates opportunities for consumers and electricity networks and retailers.