Ākitio and Pongaroa community
We have been meeting with the Ākitio and Pongaroa community members and stakeholders for several years to grow our understanding of the connectivity challenges their region can face and solutions we can work on to improve the reliability and quality of power supply to their community.
Pongaroa is a small rural community in the in the Tararua District, 110km southwest of Hastings and 200km northeast of Wellington. Ākitio is a coastal community east of Pongaroa, located 25km from a substation with powerlines that pass through slip-prone terrain and numerous river crossings, making the region prone to lengthy power outages in weather events.
Current progress
Network investment
Over the last 10 years there have been upgrades to the electricity network in the region. This includes investment in the overhead network infrastructure, upgrading a recloser unit and improvements to the Pongaroa substation.
Working with forestry owners
Trees falling on powerlines during storms is a major cause of power outages. Our Forestry Manager has been working with local forestry owners to create a wider forest corridor to help minimise the disruption to power caused by falling trees.
PowerHub
A new backup power system, known as hybrid Stand Alone Power Supply (SAPS) units, is being installed beside the Ākitio Community Hall to create a ‘PowerHub’.
PowerHubs, are designed to ensure a continued power supply during emergencies and power outages by using a combination of solar energy and diesel generation to charge a battery bank. The stored energy then powers the building via an automatic changeover switch if there’s an outage providing essential services such as heating, cooking, hot water, lighting, and power outlets for charging devices during emergencies. Civil Defence can use these PowerHubs up as official welfare sites in emergency situations.
The unit is housed in a 10ft container that is mounted on ground screws and hardwired to the building it’s adjacent to.
