No compensation for Northland after pylon collapse, Transpower says

Transpower said they currently have no way to pay compensation after a Northland power pylon collapse left thousands without electricity in June, and that may be a question for the contractor at fault.

An investigation has found the contractors who caused a Northland power pylon to collapse had likely worked in this way before.

Human error by workers from Transpower contractor Omexom caused the disastrous incident that cut power to tens of thousands of people and cost an estimated $60 million.

Transpower grid delivery manager Mark Ryall told Checkpoint giving Northlanders a power rebate wasn't a simple avenue, although they have been looking at other ways to support Northland.

"We have been engaging with the community and with some MP's and we're looking to do something to help support the region of Northland and we'll have some more information on that shortly, not like tonight or tomorrow, but in the next few weeks," he said.

However, Transpower acting chief executive John Clarke said compensation for businesses won't be happening.

"Given the challenges and practicalities for utilities of all the things that can happen to interrupt supply, there is not any way that we can compensate them."

Ryall said asking for compensation was a question to take up with Omexom.

"We're working through the commercial and insurance avenues we've got with them the contracts around this event with Omexom and we are talking to them as well around how they can help support Northland," he said.

Omexom is owned by global company Vinci Energies who have 1900 business units operating in 39 countries worldwide.

He said Transpower apologises for the incident in June, and it takes the service it deliver to New Zealanders seriously.

"We understand how important our electricity is to everyone's life and we're gutted by this event. It just shouldn't happen, and I apologise personally for that happening as a business does.

"We're working really, really hard to make sure nothing like this can happen again."

What the report said

The investigator's report said the inexperienced work crew removed all the nuts from three of the four base plates securing the legs to the floor so they could be sandblasted.

It found it likely that the workers, from Omexom, had likely done this while doing refurbishment work on other pylons.

Ryall told Checkpoint in the package of four to five base plates from late May to June this year, the crew took nuts off more than one base plate at once.

He said this was outside their standard operating procedures.

"I'm reviewing the work they've done elsewhere in the country and the work they did last year, there's no evidence found of that practise. We believe it was one crew over a very short period of time."

Ryall said the towers have a number of forces on them.

"Weight holds them down as well as uplift from wind and other things. So, without knowing exactly what they did and exactly what the loadings were on the towers that there was a risk of that."

He said Omexom were looking after the staff involved in the incident.

"Those Omexom staff have taken this very badly. Obviously, no one goes to work making a horrific error like that," he said.

Ryall said he wasn't sure if the contractors were still working, but he said were are still employed by Omexom.

Omexom still have contracts with Transpower, he said.

"Omexom have done work for Transpower for 30 years. They've completed about 500,000 labour hours a year and most of their work completed is very well done within a thorough review of all their assurance, all our assurance information and our inspections our site visits from our staff and looking at their performance versus other providers."

The incident appears to be a one-off. However, Transpower was looking for Omexom's independent investigation report and its findings, he said.

"We'll be working very closely with them going forward to make sure something like this can never happen again," he said.

Ryall said the report is due to Transpower later this month and will be made public once its finalised.

He said Transpower were not experts in removing nuts and doing maintenance work at that level, which was why it didn't specify in refurbishment guidelines how many nuts should be removed at a time.

"We engage with service providers who are experts, and we specify the outcomes and the specifications and the rules around doing that work, but it's not for us to write the detailed procedure of how you remove a nut, because we're actually not expert doing that.

"The detailed procedure of how it works would be with the service provider who do, if you can think about if you warrant your house, your architectural designer will work with you and place your lights, your plugs, your ceilings.

"They do not detail exactly how all the wires will be run by the electrician and where all the nuts and screws will go."

He said from the report, Omexom's crew worked outside their procedures.

"If they followed their procedure and service specifications, this tower would not have fallen over."

There was currently no mechanism for Transpower to pay compensation for Northland, he said.

"Look, it isn't practical for providers of utilities like water, gas and electricity, or even roading to guarantee supply or service 100% of the time."

He said the type of infrastructure is linear over a long country like New Zealand.

"It's subject to lots of natural hazards, extreme winds, floods, earthquakes, as well as equipment failure and an occasional human error.

"There's no actual avenue within existing rules for it to be done and for the future if it it came in then that would just push the prices up I guess for consumers to cover that risk."

In an earlier statement, Omexom managing director Mornez Green apologised and said the company had been doing the work for decades without problems.

"Our standard practice was not adhered to - this cannot happen ever again," he said.

"No work should ever be done that compromises tower stability."