Marlborough Lines Limited

Marlborough Lines Limited (Marlborough Lines) is an electricity distribution company, based in Blenheim, New Zealand.[1] Marlborough Lines is responsible for subtransmission and distribution of electricity to approximately 25,400 customers in the Marlborough Region over a service area of 11,330 km2 (4,370 sq mi). The network includes approximately 3,400 km (2,100 mi) of power lines extending to some very isolated areas across the region, including the extremities of the Marlborough Sounds, which can only be reached by boat or helicopter.

For the British Army base, see Marlborough Lines.
Marlborough Lines Limited
IndustryElectricity distribution
PredecessorMarlborough Electric Power Board
Founded1923
Headquarters
Blenheim
,
New Zealand
Key people
David Dew (Chair)
Tim Cosgrove (Chief Executive)
Revenue$46 M (Network)[1] (2019)
OwnerMarlborough Electric Power Trust
Number of employees
129
Websitewww.marlboroughlines.co.nz/Home

Ownership and management

The company is 100% owned by the Marlborough Electric Power Trust on behalf of electricity users in the Marlborough region.[1]

Marlborough Lines has a 50% shareholding in Nelson Electricity, the distribution company that serves Nelson city.[2]

Marlborough Lines was previously a majority shareholder in OtagoNet, the lines business supplying most of rural Otago, but sold their 51% shareholding in September 2014 for $153 million.[3][4]

In September 2019, it was announced that Chief Executive Ken Forrest, who had been with the company for 39 years, was to retire at the end of the year. [5] On 10 January 2020, the Chair of the Board announced that Tim Cosgrove had been appointed as the new Chief Executive, to commence in early April.[6]

Regulation

As a natural monopoly lines business, Marlborough Lines is subject to regulation under the Commerce Act 1986. However, as Marlborough Lines is 100% owned by a consumer trust, it is not subject to price-quality regulation, but is subject to Information Disclosure regulation. [7] The Commerce Commission publishes a wide range of Information Disclosure data provided by Marlborough Lines.[8]

History

The Marlborough Electric Power Board (MEPB) was established on 25 October 1923, with the responsibility to supply Blenheim borough, Marlborough and Awatere counties with electricity. The Havelock Town Board and Picton Borough Council had set up their own electricity supplies in 1917 and joined the MEPB in 1926 and 1947 respectively.[9]

The MEPB supplied its first electricity on 6 August 1927 with the commissioning of the 1 MW Waihopai dam, 40 km southwest of Blenheim. Electricity from the dam was transmitted at 33,000 volts to substations at Renwick, Springlands (for Blenheim), and Seddon. Electricity was distributed at 6,600 volts in Blenheim and 11,000 volts in other areas.[10]

The MEPB commissioned two diesel generators at Springlands in 1930 and 1937 to supplement the supply from Waihopai.[11] In January 1945, a 66,000-volt transmission line from Springlands to Stoke was completed, connecting the MEPB to Nelson and onward to the Cobb Power Station.[12] The Nelson-Marlborough regional grid was isolated and operated independently of the rest of the South Island grid until 1955, when a 110,000 volt transmission line was completed from Stoke to Inangahua and the West Coast. This connection finally linked all main areas of the South Island into a single grid. This was 20 years later than it had taken to connect all main regions of the North Island.[13]

In 1992, the passing of the Energy Companies Act required that the various franchised electricity distribution and retailing organisations then operating in New Zealand become commercial power companies with a responsibility to operate as a successful business and have regard to the efficient utilisation of energy. The Marlborough Electric Power Board then became Marlborough Electric – one of 35 integrated electricity businesses around New Zealand. At that time Marlborough Electric was one of a small number of electricity companies who also operated their own generation business, and produced some 26% of Marlborough's electricity requirement.

The Electricity Industry Reform Act was passed in 1998, and this required that all electricity companies be split into either the lines (network) business or the supply business (generating and/or selling electricity) by 1 April 1999. The generation and retail businesses of Marlborough Electric were sold to TrustPower, and from April 1999 Marlborough Lines was established to focus on the operation and maintenance of the distribution lines network.[14]

Network

The Marlborough Lines distribution network consists of approximately 3,400 km of lines, supplying approximately 25,000 customers.[15] Towns covered by the network include Blenheim, Picton, Renwick, Seddon and Havelock.

Grid connection

The Marlborough Lines network connects to the national grid via Transpower's 110/33 kV Blenheim substation, located on Old Renwick Road in Springlands, Blenheim. (41.4987°S 173.9325°E / -41.4987; 173.9325 (Transpower Blenheim substation)) The Blenheim substation is supplied by three separate Transpower 110 kV circuits, one from Kikiwa (around 10 km north of Saint Arnaud) and two from Stoke.[9]

Network statistics
Marlborough Lines Limited network statistics as of 31 March 2018[15]
ParameterValue
Total system length3,386 km
33 kV302 km
11 kV1,784 km
Single wire earth return (SWER)541 km
Low voltage (230/400 V)759 km
Street lighting85 km
Customer connections25,374
System maximum demand73 MW
System energy delivered398 GWh

Heritage diesel generators

The supply of electricity to Marlborough was initially dependent on a small hydro station at Waihopai. In 1930, a diesel generator was established at Springlands in Blenheim to provide backup power when hydrogeneration was not available. A detailed story and pictures of the diesel generator have been published in a history of the original manufacturer, Paxmans of Colchester, England.[16]

A further generator set was installed in 1937. After Marlborough was connected to the rest of the South Island grid in 1955, the need for the generators was greatly reduced and they were relegated to reserve use. They were last used for generation on 22 June 1992, during that year's nationwide power shortages. The generators have been preserved by Marlborough Lines as part of the engineering heritage of electricity supply in the region.[11]

Purchase of Yealands Wine Group

In 2015, Marlborough Lines purchased an 80% shareholding in a local vineyard, Yealands Wine Group, for $89 million. The sale allowed owner Peter Yealands to retain 15 per cent of the company he founded in 2008. Critics questioned whether an electricity lines company, as a regulated natural monopoly, had the skills required to produce, process and market wine internationally in a competitive and high risk industry. The managing director of Marlborough Lines, Ken Forrest said the Marlborough public will get a return better than if the cash remained in the bank.[17]

On 2 July 2018, a subsidiary of Marlborough Lines acquired the last 14 per cent of Yealands Wine Group it did not already own from an entity controlled by Peter Yealands. On the same day, Peter Yealands quit as a director of Yealands Wine Group.[18]

Months after he quit the company, a suppression order lifted, revealing Peter Yealands had been prosecuted along with two former senior staff for covering up the addition of sugar to post-fermentation wine that was destined for Europe. In November 2018, Peter Yealands appeared at the Blenheim District Court to face charges related to the falsification of records and export certification documents. Months earlier, Marlborough Lines reached a settlement under which it agreed not to sue him, even though the company says Peter Yealands did not tell it about the activity before it paid $85 million for control of the company. The settlement also saw Peter Yealands paid $23m for his remaining shares in the company.[17]

Sponsorship

Marlborough Lines is the principal sponsor of a Sports and Events Centre known as Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000. The stadium is adjacent to the Marlborough District Council's existing Aquatic Centre in central Blenheim.[19] The company also sponsors a science and technology fair in Marlborough.[20]

Subsidiaries
  • Marlborough Lines Contracting division
  • Southern Lines Limited (investment holding company)

See also

References
  1. "Annual Report 2018-19". Marlborough Lines. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. "Nelson Electricity Limited - 593777". NZ Companies Office. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. "OtagoNet". PowerNet. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020.
  4. Fallow, Nicola; Herselman, Sven (1 December 2014). "OtagoNet goes south for top price". Stuff. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020.
  5. Eder, Jennifer (4 September 2019). "Marlborough Lines managing director Ken Forrest to step down". Stuff. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. "Marlborough Lines announces new Chief Executive". The Sun, Blenheim. 10 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  7. "Consumer owned electricity distribution businesses". Commerce Commission. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  8. "Performance summaries for electricity distributors - Marlborough Lines 2019" (PDF). Commerce Commission. 22 January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2020.
  9. "Asset Management Plan 2020-2030". Marlborough Lines. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  10. "Harnessing the Waihopai". Marlborough Electric Power Board. August 1927. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  11. "Marlborough Lines Diesel Station". Marlborough Lines Limited. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020.
  12. "AtoJs Online — Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1945 Session I — D-01 PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT (BY THE HON. R. SEMPLE, MINISTER OF WORKS)". atojs.natlib.govt.nz. 1945. p. 11. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. Reilly, Helen (2008). Connecting the Country: New Zealand's National Grid 1886 - 2007. Wellington: Steele Roberts. ISBN 978-1-877448-40-9.
  14. "Our History". Marlborough Lines Limited. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  15. "EDB Information Disclosure – Marlborough Lines Limited – year ending 31 March 2018". 31 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  16. "Paxman 6VN Engine – No 23407 at Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand". Richard Carr and Robert Montgomery. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  17. "Peter Yealands paid out $23m as Marlborough Lines agrees not to sue him". Stuff – Marlborough Express. 18 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  18. "Yealands Wine Group granted suppression order as Marlborough Lines takes complete ownership". Stuff – Marlborough Express. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  19. "Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000". Marlborough District Council. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  20. "Science and Technology Celebration". SCITEC. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
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