We need to continually operate, maintain and develop New Zealand's transmission network – the National Grid – to ensure we meet the ongoing electricity needs of New Zealanders.
The Clutha Upper Waitaki Line Project increases capacity on some of our lines between Clutha and the Upper Waitaki Valley to improve electricity supply to Southland during dry periods, and to allow additional generation (should it become available) to be exported from Southland.
The project involves five components with a total approved cost of $197m. The first two components (which keep Southland secure during dry periods) were delivered in 2015 and 2016 at a cost of around $38 million. In December 2020, Transpower completed the work on the Cromwell-Twizel circuits, leaving just the work on the Roxburgh to Livingstone section of the Roxburgh–Islington line.
