Ruataniwha Substation Project
It's time for a major upgrade to meet the growing electricity demand of our community.
The Ruataniwha Substation upgrade is now in the livening stage, marking an important milestone for Central Hawke’s Bay’s electricity network.
Located on Ongaonga Road in Waipawa, Ruataniwha Substation is a key part of Centralines’ network and supports more than 9,300 rural, residential, commercial and industrial power connections across the area.
The upgrade was needed to replace ageing assets and ensure the network can continue to safely and reliably support the needs of the community. It also increases capacity to support future residential, commercial and agricultural growth across the district.
Supporting local growth:
As Central Hawke’s Bay continues to grow, reliable electricity infrastructure is essential.
The Ruataniwha Substation upgrade helps ensure the local network is better placed to manage increasing electricity demand, particularly during peak periods. By strengthening this part of the network, Centralines is helping reduce outage risk and improve long-term resilience for customers.
Building Resilience and Preparing for the Future:
The completed upgrade provides a safer, more resilient and future-ready network arrangement for Central Hawke’s Bay.
The project included a new switchroom, underground cable installation, 33kV switchgear installation, equipment installation, commissioning and staged livening of the new system.
These improvements support smoother network operation under higher loads and help ensure the network can continue meeting the needs of homes, farms, businesses and industrial customers across the area.
Collaborating for the community:
Delivering a project of this scale required careful planning, technical expertise and strong collaboration.
Centralines worked alongside project partners including Unison Networks, Unison Contracting, Connell Contracting, Mitton Electronet, EDC and Transpower to complete the upgrade.
The project also incorporated more sustainable building practices, including modern, more environmentally friendly switchgear from RPS Switchgear and materials selected to help reduce the overall environmental footprint of the switchroom.
Timeline:
- September 2024: Civil works began
- March 2025: Switchroom construction
- June 2025: Installation of termination poles
- July 2025: Underground cable installation
- August 2025: 33kV Switchgear installation
- August 2025: Equipment installation
- September 2025: Commissioning of the new substation began
- July 2026: Livening of the Ruataniwha Substation
- August 2026: Final livening and project completion
What is a substation?
Substations like Ruataniwha play an important role in how Centralines supplies electricity to the community. They help transform voltage and support the safe and reliable movement of electricity through the network.
The Ruataniwha Substation upgrade reflects Centralines’ commitment to investing in reliable, resilient and more sustainable infrastructure for Central Hawke’s Bay.
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