Entrust And Vector Announce Large Scale Undergrounding Project For St Heliers

Power lines and poles will soon be underground in large parts of St Heliers as work begins on a major undergrounding project early in the new year.

Entrust chairman, William Cairns said the work was another significant undergrounding project for Auckland, similar in scale to the recent project in Mt Albert.

“Entrust is committed to undergrounding because it makes a real difference to residents and so we’re pleased this important project will soon be underway,” he said.

The undergrounding project in St Heliers covers the eastern side of St Heliers Bay Road through to the waterfront, including a large number of streets bordered by Maskell Street, Sylvia Road and Glover Road. By the time the project is finished in 2023, approximately 14.9 kms of overhead lines and more than 420 poles will be removed from the area. See map below.

“Entrust has an arrangement with Vector that requires an average of $10.5 million to be invested in undergrounding and other projects in the Entrust area every year.

“More than $195 million has been invested and more than 230 undergrounding projects completed since the programme began, throughout the Entrust area, as well as other community investments such as the Future of Energy solar initiative and the rollout of EV chargers,” he said.

Vector’s process for choosing where to underground is run independently of Entrust and St Heliers was chosen based on a number of factors. These include the age, condition, and performance history of the existing electricity lines and equipment in the area, the number of customers who will benefit, and the opportunity to link in with fibre deployment and other infrastructure projects.

All new residential developments since the late 1960s were undergrounded at the time of construction. This means parts of Auckland, such as South Auckland, have a significant proportion of the network underground already.

For more information on Vector’s approach to undergrounding, visit vector.co.nz/undergrounding.

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