November 2012 - Still moving forward...
The earthquake recovery for the Christchurch distribution network is moving forward with the 'pull' of eighteen 900 metre lengths of 66,000 volt cable to link McFaddens zone substation to Dallington substation. The complete run is 5km long, but due to the fact the cables will separately conduct all three phases, then 18x 900m lengths is what is needed. This is the first stage of a programme that will effectively give Christchurch a 66,000 volt 'ring circuit', which enables 'backfeeding' should one section of the circuit fail. The McFaddens - Dallington underground 66kV circuit. Red circles are cable joints. The cables will be laid by contractor Cable Layers, and are scheduled to commence the first stage around the 5th of December. I will cover this in my next post. This is the first stage in a plan by Orion to consolidate the 66kV underground Christchurch distribution network and provide an even more reliable supply of electricity to the earthquake-...