Smarts Road project a lesson in communication and coordination
Last week MainPower successfully completed an infrastructure upgrade on Smarts Road in Rangiora. This milestone represents a significant achievement in securing North Canterbury’s electricity supply for future growth and reliability.
This stage of a larger project involved installing a new 66kV and 11kV lines and poles up Smarts Road, coordinating a nine-day outage – the longest in MainPower’s history – and delivering the work safely and efficiently with no public complaints.
Project Manager Mike Carstens says the success of this project came down to the collaboration of teams across the organisation. From consents and procurement to field services, communications, and the control room, every part of the business contributed to getting the job done.
Environmental planning played a key role. Early tree removal enabled dry-weather works and ECAN deadlines for bird nesting protection were met. The team worked closely with the Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare Group and other stakeholders to ensure ecological compliance from the outset.
“I need to mention Robbo and the team who got in there early, because if we were trying to get trees down in winter, we would have destroyed paddocks.”
Another major challenge was procurement. With long-lead items such as timber poles, conductors, and critical fittings, careful coordination was required.
“Special mention goes to Nigel and the rest of the procurement team for sourcing materials under pressure and keeping the project moving,” Mike says.
Planning and resilience were key. Backup strategies were developed for wet ground conditions with stockpiles of ballast, aggregate, and cement on hand. Generator support was budgeted and deployed where needed ensuring continuity of power supply for residents and businesses.
“Our communications team carried out welfare checks and site visits for vulnerable residents, and clear, timely updates were delivered that built trust and transparency,” Mike says.
“Coordination with key stakeholders, including local dairies, helped shape the timing of the outage to minimise disruption. It’s the biggest planned shutdown we’ve ever had and we didn’t have a single complaint.”
Mike acknowledges the work of Luke from Sub-Service for ground condition planning, Jay for bridging civil and electrical coordination, and the CCR team for leading communications and stakeholder engagement.
“And of course the biggest shout out goes out to Johnny and all of the field crews w. worked so hard to get this done. They executed the work safely and efficiently, with no negative feedback from the public.”
The project exemplifies what a major infrastructure upgrade can look like – one that involves the whole business, delivers for the community, and sets a high standard for future works.
