Supplementary Evidence Provided in Support of Counties Power Limited's
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Supplementary evidence provided in support of Counties Power Limited's presentation to the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel in respect of Topic 016/017 RUB North/West and RUB South IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of Proposed Plan Change 12 to the Auckland Council District Plan: Papakura Section, Proposed Private Plan Change 38 to the Auckland Council District Plan: Franklin Section, Proposed Plan Change 19 to the Auckland Regional Policy Statement, ( ) and Proposed Plan Change 3 to the Auckland Council Regional Plan: Air, Land, and Water STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE BY MAURICE HOSKINS FOR COUNTIES POWER LIMITED Introduction 1. My full name is Maurice Max Hoskins and I am the Planning Engineer with Counties Power Limited. I hold the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Canterbury and Certificate of Electrical Engineering Supply. I have practised as an Electrical Engineer for 38 years working in New Zealand, 2 years in the United Kingdom and 2 years in Saudi Arabia. 2. I was appointed as the Planning Engineer in 1994 and as such I am responsible for the medium and long term planning of the power system in Counties Power. Particular emphasis in this role is placed on the planning of subtransmission, substations and distribution feeders. 3. The purpose of my evidence is to outline the wider significance of the 11 OkV lines that run through the Drury South Structure Plan (DSSP) area, to confirm the difference between supplying a new industrial area and a new residential area, to provide a brief overview of how Counties Power intends to supply power to the DSSP area, and to confirm the importance of retaining flexibility with respect to these distribution lines. Significance of the 110kV lines in the Network 4. The two Counties Power 11 OkV lines crossing through the DSSP area are those supplying our Opaheke 11 OkV/22kV substation located at the junction of Opaheke, Ponga and Sutton Roads. This substation presently supplies Southern Papakura City and the area bounded by Blackbridge Road in the West, the Hunua Range catchment area in the East and Stevensons Quarry in the South. Hence this substation supplies the ( Hingaia Peninsular, the DSSP area and will supply the newly proposed housing areas Papakura-Drury defined in the Auckland City RUB discussions on going at present. (An estimated extra 26,759 dwellings). 5. This substation will also be part of the supply to the North Franklin Area (Karaka North, Karaka West, Whangapouri and Paerata North areas as defined in the RUB documentation) another 26,608 dwellings. 6. Hence the supply to the Opaheke Substation is a critical part of the ( infrastructure of supply not only to the proposed DSSP Area but also to the greater area around it. 7. Because of the importance of these lines I consider it would not be good engineering practise to place these lines underground and expose our customers in the area to the higher risks posed by underground cables. Repair times of underground cables are measured in days and weeks compared to overhead lines in hours. This has been demonstrated by the Christchurch earthquake and the loss of Supply into Auckland in 1998. The loss of supply to large areas for extensive periods in the above places, were a direct consequence of underground cables being employed. 8. Also it must be borne in mind the extra cost of underground 11 OkV cable installations an estimated twenty times the cost of overhead construction. Supply to and reticulation of non- residential areas 9. Residential areas are characterised by a high degree of certainty of future demands as opposed to, commercial and industrial areas, and are easy to plan in advance for supply. The demands of Commercial areas are relatively easy to predict once the buildings have been designed, however this is much later in the planning process than for residential areas. ( 10. The demands of Industrial areas in contrast however, are unknown and can change dramatically with time. A building could initially be used as a warehouse with essentially lighting only and later by a thermoplastic ( industry with very intensive demands. The latter could require 22kV supply to the site with its own 22kV/415V transformers whereas the former only a 415V supply. 11 . For a lot in industrial zone 4 the demand could be such that a separate feeder to supply the lot is required and in the extreme case an 11 OkV/22kV substation could be required on site. 12. Hence the requirements and future requirements of industrial are always uncertain and there is need to retain maximum flexibility of the supply to the ( area concerned. Planned Supply to the DSSP Area 13. It is planned to supply the DSSP Area from two feeders from the Opaheke Substation, one along Flanagan and Tegal Roads in the NW (Drury Feeder) and the other along Fitzgerald Road and Ramarama Roads (Drury Hills Feeder) in NE. A back up and third feeder will be from the south presently along Ramarama Road supplied initially from our Ramarama Substation on Hillview Road and ultimately from our new substation to be built east of the Transpower Bombay Substation. 14. Should the demand exceed the provisional demand of 20-26 MVA then most likely Counties Power would construct another 110kV/22kV substation in the DSSP Area. Depending on location of the substation this could require additional 11 OkV lines and at least another feeder within the area. Also to gain maximum economic and supply benefits from the new substation, new feeders would be constructed to supply areas outside the DSSP area. Comments on underground cables networks 15. Underground cable cables at 22kV cost about three times the cost of equivalent line overhead. The tap off from an overhead line to a line down a road costs approximately $3500 whereas from an underground cable to an underground cable is approximately $42,000. However from an overhead line to an underground cable the same as for an overhead line about $3500. To break into an underground cable to supply another spur or transformer can cost of the order of $50,000 or even greater. Not to mention that extra joints have to be inserted in the cable. Joints are potential failure points and we try to keep them to a minimum. 16. To lay an underground cable the road needs to be formed and the berms at the final level and ideally all other works completed. 17. In short overhead lines are much better able to cope with uncertain demands, as occur in industrial areas. Reticulation of the Drury South Area 18. A possible staged development of the area is detailed in the Beca report supporting the original Stevenson application. However, in fact, the development will more than likely be driven by the uptake of the lots. Hence in some directions for the planned supply the roads will not necessarily be formed. The Beca report indicated that the entrance to the subdivision will initially be from Quarry Road in the NE and staged inwards from there. This implies that the roads from the NW and the South will not be formed until later on in the development. However to give the required capacity and backup supply to the area, lines are also required from the NW and the South. 19. Hence Counties Power request that in these cases supply is by overhead lines until the roads are formed and then the 22kV and 400V reticulation placed underground. This of course would be at the developers cost. 20. To retain flexibility particularly for the industrial zone 4 area I recommend that the 22kV distribution along Ramarama Road remains overhead at least until the subdivision is fully developed. This would allow any spur lines easily to be run to lots where required. While it is proposed that Ramarama ( Road be closed, to maintain a backup supply, the reticulation into the subdivision along Ramarama Road from the south would need to be retained until other routes are completed from the south to the northern part ( of Ramarama Road . 21. The 11 OkV subtransmission lines through the area would remain overhead to best serve our customers. Also because of the Auckland City expansion there could be need to convert the single circuit line along the motorway to a double circuit line. Pole heights would generally be close to existing heights. 22. In summary, Counties Power is happy to use underground lines where circumstances justify this, for example in new residential subdivisions. Equally for the benefit of our customers we use overhead lines where these are appropriate, including for our subtransmission 11 OkV lines and for flexible reticulation in industrial subdivisions. We submit that the plan change should permit overhead lines 23. Thank you. I would be happy to answer any questions. Maurice Hoskins Planning Engineer Counties Power Ltd 4 July 2013 ... - { ' ( I Evidence of Craig Magee, Drury South Structure Plan (Proposed Plan Modifications) IN THE MATIER of the Resource Management Act 1991 IN THE MATIER of Proposed Plan Change 12 to the Auckland Council District Plan: Papakura Section, Proposed Private Plan Change 38 to the Auckland Council District Plan : Franklin Section, Proposed Plan Change 19 to the Auckland Regional Policy Statement, and Proposed Plan Change 3 to the Auckland Council Regional Plan : Air, Land, and Water STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE BY CRAIG VAUGHAN MAGEE ON BEHALF OF COUNTIES POWER LIMITED INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Craig Magee and I hold the role of Planning Manager at Resource Management Solutions Limited, a consultancy established in Auckland in 1996. I have a Bachelor of Planning from the University of Auckland and I have been a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute since 2000.