New Orion building in Prestons Road

12 September 2019 at 2:45 pm

Orion is building a new switching station on Prestons Road to ensure its network continues to meet the needs of the community in north Christchurch.

Construction of the 35m x 15m x 7.7m high building will commence in October, and it is expected to be operational by May 2020.

The building will house switchgear for Orion’s high voltage, 66kV cable that delivers electricity from its Waimakariri and Rawhiti zone substations to the north of Christchurch.

Steve Macdonald, Orion’s General Manager Infrastructure said, “This $2.6 million project will provide Orion with greater flexibility to switch between multiple alternative sources of power for this area.

“It means we will have alternatives in the event of an outage, the capacity to restore power more quickly, and increased network resilience should a major event occur.”

The north of Christchurch is experiencing both residential and business growth and this development establishes provision for serving the increased needs of the area in future.

New Orion building to be built at 391 Prestons Road