Local St John Gets Vital Rescue Equipment

Media Release For immediate release 7 May 2009

Local St John Gets Vital Rescue Equipment Thanks To Community Fund

Meridian Energy is the largest of the three state-owned enterprises formed from the split of ECNZ on 31 March 1999.

With a total New Zealand capacity of 2438 MW, it has some 30 percent of the country’s total electricity generation.

As well as the eight hydro power stations on the Waitaki River system, Meridian Energy owns and operates New Zealand’s largest hydro station at Manapouri, the Te Apiti and White Hill wind farms and the Wellington wind turbine.

The company supplies energy to the country’s single biggest electricity customer, the Comalco aluminium smelter at Bluff, while at the other end of the customer scale it serves householders and businesses nationwide from a purpose-built retail operations centre in downtown Christchurch. Meridian Energy has interests in South Island hydro development opportunities, research and development investments in superconductor and fuel cell technologies and wind generation opportunities.

It employs around 500 people at offices in Christchurch, Wellington, and Twizel. The Twizel/Mount Cook St John is gearing up to install two new pieces of vital rescue equipment in its Twizel based Ambulances, thanks to more than $10,000 of support from the Meridian Waitaki Community Fund. The volunteer organisation provides ambulance services to an area covering the Lindis Pass, Otematata Saddle and Mt Cook through to Irishman Creek.

Each year it responds to more than 150 call-outs, clocking up around 26,000 kilometres. Rick Ramsay, Chair of the St John Twizel/Mt Cook Area Committee, says the new equipment will allow the service to maintain communication and respond to cardiac arrests when its frontline ambulance is out of the area.

“The satellite phone will be a vital piece of equipment for our service because radio and cellphone reception is poor or non-existent in many places,” he says. “On a recent rescue our efforts were hampered when communication was lost between the (MORE) Generating Assets Waitaki River system The Upper Waitaki system begins at Lake Tekapo. Water passes through the Tekapo A power station and is diverted by a purpose-built hydro canal to Tekapo B station on the shores of Lake Pukaki. Water is drawn by canal from both Lakes Pukaki and Ohau to supply Ohau A, B and C power stations, before being discharged into Lake Benmore.

After passing through the Benmore power station, the water flows down the Waitaki River through the Aviemore and Waitaki stations. The Waitaki system holds about 66 percent of New Zealand’s hydro storage and provides some 25% of the country’s total power supply. Manapouri The Manapouri power station – New Zealand’s largest hydro station - lies 178m underground on the western shore of Lake Manapouri.

After passing through the station the water flows into Doubtful Sound via two 10km-long tailrace tunnels. All of the stations are designed to be remote controlled from a control centre at Twizel Te Apiti One of the country’s largest wind farm stands on the northern side of the Manawatu Gorge. Its 55 NEG Micon turbines give it a total capacity of 90MW. White Hill The White Hill wind farm, near Mossburn in northern Southland, was opened in June 2007. It has a total capacity of 58MW from its 29 Vestas wind turbines, the first 2MW machines installed in New Zealand. Communications Centre and Ambulance

Officers in a helicopter responding to an accident in a jet boat behind the Ben Ohau Range. A satellite phone would have allowed direct communication for updates and advice. “The satellite phone will also be valuable in civil defence emergencies when cell-phone and landline communication may be lost. It would have been difficult to raise the funds for this gear so we are grateful for the support from the Meridian Community Fund,” he added.

Before the new equipment is commissioned, the St John team will undergo extensive training. The new satellite phone provides up to 30 hours of stand-by time and is resistant to water, dust and shock, making it ideal for the rugged conditions the St John team faces. The voluntary organisation also received funding for a new defibrillator for its first response vehicle to complement the one in its front line ambulance. “The new defibrillator is essential because our main ambulance is often out of the area carrying patients or attending emergencies,” he says. “This means that if we were called to (MORE) a cardiac arrest within our coverage area we would not have the equipment necessary to resuscitate the patient.”

Chair of the Meridian Waitaki Community Fund, Mark France, says the new equipment will help ensure the St John team has the resources necessary to provide a vital service to the community.

“St John volunteer services around New Zealand do an incredible job to ensure the safety of the communities in which they operate,” he says. “Organisations such as this rely on community support and donations to carry out their important work, whether it be rescue call-outs, or having a presence at community events. We are pleased to be able to support Twizel/Mount Cook St John’s worthwhile initiative.” The Meridian Waitaki Community Fund is to the value of $1 million over three years and is managed by a panel of community members and Meridian staff, who work together to help decide which local initiatives are supported. Applications for consideration in the next round must be submitted by 2 June 2009

(ENDS)

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