Zachary Jensen, Ventia

Zachary Jensen is a Graduate Engineer at Ventia, working in the electricity and gas division, where he works on various projects in the high-voltage industry.  He is commonly involved with the delivery of innovative projects including 3D modelling, surveying, and drone operations.  His role also extends into engineering analysis and technical support for Ventia’s field operations.  Zachary graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2022 with an Honours Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Effective Disaster Recovery Planning and Resource Management

On February 14, 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle hit the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne region, causing severe flooding and damage to Transpower's Redclyffe Substation, an essential link to Unison’s distribution network.  This resulted in the substation tripping, disconnecting 103MW of power and over 75,000 homes.  Ventia’s Central Region team was the first to arrive at Redclyffe Substation to assess the damage and begin restoring power.  Power was restored to most customers within 8 days, however, the full rebuild lasted 7 months.

Ventia’s experience during the Redclyffe response highlighted the importance of effective disaster recovery planning and resource management.  With climate change increasing the likelihood of similar events, resilience and response to these events is extremely important.  This presentation focuses on Ventia’s response to the Napier floods and its purpose is to communicate our journey and the key lessons learned, including:

• The first response,

• assessment of the damaged substation,

• initial restoration and pressures to restore power,

• long term rebuild and fatigue management,

Ventia’s review of what succeeded and failed, how this could be improved for future events.