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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2016 20:52:13 GMT 12
Yeah, well as I already posted, that 110kV feeder is the only power cable feeding Gisborne and East Coast. It has always been a bit of a worry that if it got taken out the district would be buggered. They really need a second feeder line from the Bay of Plenty, but the government has never been prepared to spend the money, and when the electricity supply industry was restructured during the 1990s, the national grid decided they didn't want to own or maintain the feeder into the Gisborne district, so they handed it over to the Poverty Bay Electric Power Board and dumped the problem into the hands of the locals. Then, the old power boards got restructured and the feeder ended up in the hands of Eastland Network. And with the low population base in Poverty Bay and East Coast, combined with the extremely rugged country between there and Bay of Plenty, the local network company will never be able to afford to put in that much needed second feeder line from a different direction.
Today's tragic wire strike and plane crash has dramatically shown up just how much out on a limb Gisborne and East Coast are when it comes to electricity infrastructure.
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Post by thomarse on Dec 13, 2016 12:19:52 GMT 12
If it had been me, I'd have wanted my obituary to say "Doing what he loved"
My hope is that the same would apply to him.
Blue skies, George.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 13, 2016 13:56:04 GMT 12
Here is a photograph of the pylon at one end of the broken spans. As you can see it is in extremely rugged terrain....  (Some very nice messages have been posted in reply to that photograph at Eastland Network's Facebook page. Click on the picture to read them.) |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2016 14:23:16 GMT 12
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Post by kiwibeavers on Dec 19, 2016 19:46:24 GMT 12
George working at Tahaenui 29th September 2015 in JPU.  |
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Post by kiwibeavers on Dec 19, 2016 19:48:06 GMT 12
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Post by kiwibeavers on Dec 19, 2016 19:48:59 GMT 12
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Post by skyhawkdon on Dec 21, 2016 19:44:07 GMT 12
Yeah, well as I already posted, that 110kV feeder is the only power cable feeding Gisborne and East Coast. It has always been a bit of a worry that if it got taken out the district would be buggered. They really need a second feeder line from the Bay of Plenty, but the government has never been prepared to spend the money, and when the electricity supply industry was restructured during the 1990s, the national grid decided they didn't want to own or maintain the feeder into the Gisborne district, so they handed it over to the Poverty Bay Electric Power Board and dumped the problem into the hands of the locals. Then, the old power boards got restructured and the feeder ended up in the hands of Eastland Network. And with the low population base in Poverty Bay and East Coast, combined with the extremely rugged country between there and Bay of Plenty, the local network company will never be able to afford to put in that much needed second feeder line from a different direction. Today's tragic wire strike and plane crash has dramatically shown up just how much out on a limb Gisborne and East Coast are when it comes to electricity infrastructure. Its not the only place in NZ where the power from the National Grid comes via a single high voltage transmission line, it is quite common for remote areas. The cost of providing diversity is huge and the local electricity customers would have to pay. There are actually two 110kV circuits on this line but both were cut. Transpower sold this line and the Gisborne substation to Eastland Networks a couple of years ago. Transpower has been incentivised to divest spur lines like this and is focusing more on the core (interconnected) grid. The Lines companies have likewise been incentivised to purchase spur lines and substations off Transpower. The theory being the Lines companies can maintain and operate them cheaper than Transpower can. One of the risks with a local lines company owning these traditional HV assets is they generally don't hold the emergency spares or have the heavy equipment or experience to repair them. This proved to be the case here. It was Transpower and its contractors who came to the rescue and assisted Eastland get the lights back on. It is a good reminder that we all need to be prepared to go without power for several days. No power system is guaranteed 100% secure. Shit does happen! |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 22, 2016 11:50:28 GMT 12
We've discussed before how Wellington - of all places - seems to have a single line because when it is interrupted the whole city goes out. And Auckland used to be the same, remember about ten years ago when someone accidentally chopped the line and coffee shops could not serve lattes for days?
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Post by efliernz on Dec 22, 2016 12:32:47 GMT 12
We've discussed before how Wellington - of all places - seems to have a single line because when it is interrupted the whole city goes out. And Auckland used to be the same, remember about ten years ago when someone accidentally chopped the line and coffee shops could not serve lattes for days? Ah... the great over-heating cables incident... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Auckland_power_crisis |
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 22, 2016 13:32:17 GMT 12
Auckland and Wellington don't produce the REAL wealth in New Zealand.
Provincial areas do.
Where do you think the dairy farms, forests and other big exporting commodity industries are based?
When the power goes out in Auckland or Wellington, it stops the supply of electricity to cafes and expresso machines and politicians start whinging.
When the power goes out in the provinces, it stops cows being milked.
'nuff said.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 22, 2016 13:32:35 GMT 12
from The Marlborough Express....Pilot George Anderson remembered after a life of adventure in the airBy OLIVER LEWIS | 7:51PM - Wednesday, 21 December 2016 Aviation enthusiast George Anderson was farewelled at Omaka Aerodrome,
near Blenheim, on Tuesday.THE topdressing pilot that died earlier this month after his plane hit wires near Gisborne was a born-adventurer with a life-long passion for flying, his father says.
More than 1,000 people attended George Anderson's funeral at Omaka Aerodrome, outside Blenheim, on Tuesday, which included a fly-over by planes George had either piloted or had a hand in building.
Peter Anderson said his son had a magnetic personality that drew people in, something that was evident by the size of the turnout, which included colleagues from Farmers Air, the company George worked for at the time of his death.
“Everybody felt good around him, he had this personality where, in his presence, you felt special, he remembered everybody and he made a point of understanding and being interested in them,” Anderson said.
Outside his home in rural Marlborough, Anderson had hoisted the flag of Liberia, flying at half-mast in memory of his son, who picked it up during one of his many trips abroad working as an aerial surveyor for Kiwi Air.
Anderson, a rural veterinarian and keen pilot himself, said his son lived for flying and one of his proudest moments with him was when they were both in the air together, “wing tip to wing tip, grinning at each other across the few feet that separated us”. Mourners gather at Omaka Aerodrome on Tuesday for the funeral of 37-year-old pilot
George Anderson. — Photograph: Scott Hammond/Fairfax NZ. A Tiger Moth, bottom, and Piper Pawnee take part in the fly-over for George Anderson.
— Photograph: Scott Hammond/Fairfax NZ. An Avro Anson, front, and two Nanchang aircraft take part in a fly-over at
George Anderson's funeral. — Photograph: Scott Hammond/Fairfax NZ.George's grandfather on his mother's side was also a pilot, flying Hawker Tempests during World War II, so flying was in his blood, and every opportunity he had George would get in a plane and take to the air, Anderson said.
George grew up in Blenheim, went to high school in Christchurch, then went back to Marlborough where he worked in the vineyards before studying engineering with Air New Zealand.
He got a job working for Safe Air, learned to fly and then got his commercial licence, which opened up new horizons for him to take a job with aerial surveying company Kiwi Air.
That job took him around the world, from South America, to the United States, Canada and long stints in Africa where he flew for big stretches at a time looking for gold and other minerals.
Anderson said his son stacked more into his 37 years than most people did in a lifetime, adding he was always enthusiastic, adventurous and keen for a challenge.
He was also notoriously untidy, not out of laziness, but because of his boundless enthusiasm, which would see him start and drop projects as soon as the next whim took him, Anderson said.
He pointed to a half-finished Land Rover in his hangar which George started working on about 10 years ago. George Anderson looks on while his son, Gus Anderson, takes control. George Anderson during his time in Africa.George's partner, Carrie Noad, said the same, their Gisborne garage was full of projects, from the rockets and model planes George loved to build to a pedal-plane he was making for their almost 2-year-old son, Gus.
“He was building Gus a pedal-plane, a Mustang, which he kept referring to as ‘the old man's project’ because it was so time consuming and he'd done it all from scratch,” she said.
Noad also grew up in Blenheim, but said she and George's paths did not cross until a chance meeting six years ago when they both happened to be back in the town.
“Our first date was in a Tiger Moth, so he knew how to impress the ladies,” she said.
“His death has left a massive hole in our lives, especially for our son, and we're having a daughter as well next March. He was an amazing, dedicated father.”
“If there's one message that comes out of this, something needs to be done about marking wires, because they're death traps,” Anderson said.__________________________________________________________________________ Related story:
• Terrific' pilot dies after plane crashes into power lines near Gisbornewww.stuff.co.nz/national/87809010
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Post by skyhawkdon on Dec 23, 2016 18:54:43 GMT 12
We've discussed before how Wellington - of all places - seems to have a single line because when it is interrupted the whole city goes out. And Auckland used to be the same, remember about ten years ago when someone accidentally chopped the line and coffee shops could not serve lattes for days? Both Wellington and Auckland have multiple Transpower transmission lines feeding them Dave (Wellington is also connected to the South Island by the HVDC link at Haywards). There are vulnerabilities in certain areas when there are circuits or substations out for maintenance/upgrades. Outages are often weather related and no power system is immune to them (just ask South Australia!). Auckland is a lot better off now than it was a few years ago, Transpower has built a new double circuit line into it from the south and a new backup substation at Pakaraunga. The Penrose substation cable fire caused a large blackout simply because the whole substation had to be turned off to safely fight the fire. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 23, 2016 19:13:10 GMT 12
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