Pacific Islands growth for NZ electricity company

‘Pacific Islands growth for NZ electricity company’

8 September, 2011

A Whangarei lines company playing a crucial role in the upgrade and expansion of Samoa’s electricity network is targeting other Pacific Islands for further growth.

The announcement comes as the Northpower takes part in the Pacific Showcase in Auckland this week – the first public event at the Cloud.

The Samoan projects are part of an Asian Development Bank funded programme – ‘Power Expansion Project for Samoa’.

Northpower Business Development General Manager Sean Horgan says Northpower is currently looking other project opportunities throughout the Pacific Islands.

“We are making a strategic investment in the Pacific Islands with a view to ongoing expansion - we are there for the long term,” says Mr Horgan.

“We are an electricity distribution network owner with our own hydro station and diversity that covers SCADA management, telecommunications (fibre networks), generation, transmission, and distribution electricity systems. This is supported by an in depth engineering capability that allows us to deliver turnkey projects through to developing maintenance systems and programmes.

“We have already completed a network load flow and system protection study on the generation and sub-transmission network for the Electric power Company (EPC) of Samoa, as well as an upgrade of the switchgear in each of the hydro and diesel generation stations on the main island of Upolu.

Mr Horgan says Northpower is project managing the design, build and installation of the high voltage system at the Fiaga Power Station which will link back into the main control system at the plant.

Fiaga, a greenfields power station, is a 30 megawatt diesel plant which will have seven diesel generators running on a blend of diesel and coconut oil. When complete, it will be responsible for the generation of over 50% of Samoa’s power supply.

“We are also engaged in the design, build and install of the Fuluasou substation (including the development of a new National Control Centre for Samoa) where EPC will centralise the management of its generation, distribution and transmission electricity network.”

Much of Northpower’s current projects in Samoa will be complete by 2013, says Mr Horgan.

ENDS

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