Profligate behaviour : MYTH paraded as fact…… just like Aurora Energy’s propaganda campaign

Council infrastructure and networks committee chairwoman Cr Kate Wilson said last night the project would go ahead “regardless”. There was funding for three years, she said, and the fourth year’s funding would be part of next year’s long-term plan, and the one after that. The project was needed for safety reasons to prevent vehicles driving into the harbour and climate change making the road undriveable. (ODT) *Emphasis by whatifdunedin

Yeah right.

### ODT Online Fri, 26 May 2017
Botched cycleway estimate short by $13m
By David Loughrey
A bungled Dunedin City Council cost estimate to complete safety improvements and a cycle/walkway on Otago Peninsula has left the project more than $13 million short. The council announced yesterday an estimate for the project on Portobello Rd and Harington Point Rd that includes a cycle/walkway from Taiaroa Head to the city had risen from $20 million to $49 million. The earlier estimate, drawn up  in 2011, did not include parts of the cycleway to be built, land that had to be bought and a contingency fund to cover unforeseen expenses. […] Despite the cost rise, the council will start construction this year, with a shared cycle/walkway design.
Read more

****

Powerlines at sunset [garp.com]

Meanwhile WE will be paying for our Otago power network TWICE, at a crippling cost to business and residential power consumers well into the future —thanks to Dunedin City Council’s unsatisfactory governance of the companies Aurora Energy / Delta Utility Services and Dunedin City Holdings and, above all, the Council’s unfettered use of public funds to realise the dream of the Tartan Mafia and Professional Rugby to build the now frequently empty and under-utilised Forsyth Barr Stadium. (three concerts by Ed Sheeran in highly doubtful acoustic conditions inside ‘the roof’ does not a Christmas make).

All this because the Council conveniently fails to ensure it covers the infrastructural basics (in this instance: the safe, secure and continuous supply of electricity) – affordably – for the static if bearly stable City of Dunedin, and the sparcely populated Otago region in the mode of fast pumping growth. (There are simply too few permanent ratepayers to uphold ‘big bloated dreams’ and money siphoning on the rates take).

The Council did not ensure that Aurora Energy / Delta Utility Services were sufficiently well structured to Avoid profligate spending, making subvention payments to the stadium companies, or borrowing to pay dividends to the Council. (Probably the least of it).

There have been YEARS of dangerous neglect, embellishing the lack of repair and upgrade to the Community of Otago’s electricity network.

The Council is not well enough controlled (corporate and financial oversight) in order to Avoid its own profligate spending —so to protect, support and upgrade Otago’s power network as the solid basis for regional economic development and SAFE living —with CERTAINTY and SECURITY OF SUPPLY.

Instead, The People will now be plunged into further debt by the circus wheel of local body politicians and the morally thin and rather malevolent boards of directors (masters of spin) controlling the companies.

It’s time the People of Dunedin and Otago took control of their power infrastructure. Resolving, if they will, to adopt a different ownership and delivery model – one option is to form a democratically elected Community Power Trust to own and oversee the network; this is a sound regional model that is proven to work in other jurisdictions, with all due care.

WE have to Safeguard our future.
Not leave decision-making to unvetted members of the Tartan Mafia.
Especially not those in thrall to the likes of Gordon Stewart and his ilk (a vague reference to Delta’s speculative dealings at Yaldhurst, Christchurch – Delta is presently in a discovery process via an action brought to the Christchurch High Court by Caveators claiming Constructive Fraud).

DO NOT sell the ‘fragments remaining’ of the Otago Power Network (as bleated by some in power who can’t/won’t maintain a local body balance sheet – like you trust them, already?!) – to overseas corporates who will hike power prices disastrously to satisfy their shareholders.

Proceed carefully, OTAGO.

ASK QUESTIONS. RESEARCH. DO YOUR SUMS.
DON’T BE TOLD WHAT TO DO. ACT RESPONSIBLY FOR THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF YOUR KITH AND KIN.
DO NOT PLACE FAITH IN OLD SPIN MAESTERS AND THEIR DEPUTIES.

We’ve seen them all before and have the new $1+ BILLION ‘invoice’ from Aurora Energy to prove it. Yes, we thought we had already paid over that amount in electricity and lines dues.

The suited ones bringing the clamour are looking after themselves – not US, not OUR COMMUNITY.

This is now a ransom.

The UGLY sister companies remain joined at the hip : Delta is Aurora Energy’s “preferred contractor”. And Steve is new, so don’t blame him! ….Really?

****

[propaganda – Aurora Energy]

After facing unrelenting pressure to up its game, Aurora Energy says it has stepped up to the challenge.

Sat, 27 May 2017
Dawn of a new Aurora era
By Vaughan Elder
Aurora chairman Steve Thompson said it had been under the “spotlight and the heat lamp” since accusations broke last October that it was endangering the public and workers by leaving its network, and in particular power poles, to deteriorate. That pressure turned ugly at times and workers had been verbally abused, including while out doing their supermarket shopping. Mr Thompson blamed the abuse on what he described as unfair criticism and media coverage. But Mr Thompson said in the face of adversity, Aurora and its sister company Delta had achieved a “hell of a lot” in a short space of time. The two companies were well on their way to splitting up in a divorce which Mr Thompson said would cost money in the short-term but reap huge benefits in the long-term. Aurora was also mid-way through an ambitious accelerated pole replacement programme and this week announced a $720million plan to upgrade its ageing network.
….Mr Thompson said its actions should help renew the public’s faith in both companies, but emphasised he believed that faith had been unfairly shaken by what he described as over-the-top criticism in the past seven months. He said safety concerns about the 2910 red-tagged poles across Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes had been overblown. At the same time, Delta and Aurora’s efforts to confront the problem, both before and after the story broke in October, had been under-reported, he said.
….Despite his anger at the way Aurora had been treated by critics and in the Otago Daily Times, he was under no illusion the network was in top shape, saying it was the second oldest network in New Zealand and acknowledged major work was needed to improve it in the next 10 years. But he would not be drawn on whether the situation had come about as a result of decades of underinvestment, which has been one of the main criticisms levelled at Aurora since October. He said he was not in a position to comment given he only started midway through last year.
Read more

CRITICAL ABHORRENCE FOR TOP CHAPS IN THE AURORA / DELTA / DCHL ‘EXECUTIVE’ (PAST AND PRESENT) WILL CONTINUE UNABATED IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE UNTIL THEY AND THEIR FRIENDS ARE OUSTED AND MADE ANSWERABLE TO HIGHER AUTHORITIES.

Otago people must busy themselves.
Time for formal inquiries. Time to REMODEL.

—

Related Post and Coments:
24.5.17 SCANDAL : Aurora Energy Ltd set to burden Otago ratepayers and residents with massive rates increases

█ For more, enter the terms *aurora*, delta*, *epic fraud*, *poles*, *healey* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

SCANDAL : Aurora Energy Ltd set to burden Otago ratepayers and residents with massive rates increases

At Facebook:

****

“Overall, the planning period will be characterised by the delivery of the largest work programme in Aurora Energy’s history.” –Steve Thompson

Read: The Otago power network is THAT DEGRADED – caused by various rugby supporting and clip-ticket gentlemen, whose names we all know so well. Described by civil words (not cuss words) that start with F and C.

The “laundry” was well and truly harsh, leaving the network in threadbare tatters…. while private pockets were filled. That’s One Billion Dollars worth of power asset the Otago ratepayers have had to pay for TWICE. Talk about ‘power’ and corruption, Bryce Edwards (?) – Dunedin in the last 30 years was built on it, solidly at source.

The “gents” might like to explain where all the money went, and how the hell they think they can make us pay for their near limitless mismanagement and fully reckless endangerment (to workers, citizens and the regional economy) over three decades …..without shoving them in deep at the NZ Court system —for processing.

█ Today an Aurora/Delta executive had the audacity (after spinning out their LGOIMA response to the 20th working day, following my request made 26 April) to want to charge me for official information at the vindictive “maximum charge” (their words) of $190.00. Shove that, boys. Other council owned companies have provided the information free of charge and very promptly and courteously.

Tuck it back in your pants Aurora/Delta, or be sliced.

—

At Facebook:

● Aurora will spend $347 million on asset renewal, including a total of 14,000 poles…..

### ODT Online Wed, 24 May 2017
Aurora plans $720m upgrade of network
By Vaughan Elder
Aurora Energy has unveiled a $720 million plan to upgrade its ageing electricity network over the next decade. The plan is a more than $300 million increase on the 10-year plan the Dunedin City Council owned company released last year. […] In a press release this afternoon, Aurora Energy said the plan would have an extensive impact on the region’s economy through job creation and spill-over benefits to other businesses. […] Other major projects included a new substation at Carisbrook, which would replace the 60-year-old Neville St substation by 2019 and a new Wanaka substation on Riverbank Rd, Wanaka. […] Aurora Energy chairman Steve Thompson said an additional $81 million would be spent on growth and security of supply projects to support the region. […] The remaining expenditure was tagged to maintenance and operating expenditure ($192 million), and capital expenditure primarily related to new consumer connections and safety and reliability ($101 million).
Read more

****

The vertiginous mountain of HEALTH AND SAFETY DANGERS due to Aurora mismanagement and neglect of the power asset across Otago.

And the WorkSafe option could be “…..an infringement notice”, possibly not PROSECUTION.

Hmm, have the good old boys been dealing in the way they usually deal ??? Is WorkSafe a soft touch. To date it certainly hasn’t been Acute. Or at all worried about the danger to electrical workers or the general public. What a damnably prolonged and sordid farce this is.

—

### ODT Online Wed, 24 May 2017
No decision to prosecute Aurora
By Vaughan Elder
Worksafe is yet to decide whether it will prosecute Aurora Energy over the state of its power poles. WorkSafe has been looking into Aurora and its sister company Delta since October over accusations dangerous power poles across Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes were putting the public at risk. The government entity gave fresh details about its audit of the two companies in response to an Official Information Act request from the Otago Daily Times. WorkSafe high hazards and energy safety general manager Wayne Vernon said it had completed an “initial” audit of a sample of the network’s assets and provided a report to Aurora. […] “WorkSafe has not to date made a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute Aurora over health and safety issues associated with the state of its poles.” Mr Vernon emphasised prosecution was one of many options available to it, which also included issuing instructions to remove or minimise the potential for danger and issuing an infringement notice.
Read more

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *epic fraud*, *poles*, *healey* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Just beginning…. inquiries into council company rogues

Updated post
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 at 1:47 p.m.

—

ODT 28.12.16 (page 12)

*smartphone tweak by whatifdunedin

****

THANK YOU LEAKS

Another demonstration, published via ODT today (see link below), of Lame Brains and Arrogance —Grady Cameron BULLSHIT and BLUSTER

Grady says !! “one of the largest construction projects in Otago during 2017” because…. since he was first appointed, Grady has COMPLETELY FAILED as chief executive of Delta and Aurora. Increasingly weak and witless. He is criminally negligent under New Zealand’s health and safety legislation. If WorkSafe tries to diminish that truth by applying the soft touch – there will be an Otago Riot.

As for Steve Thompson, given his latest offerings (and his past with Otago Rugby Football Union et al), he appears f’g clueless, a seller of hype, awesomely unfit to be (interim!) chairman of Aurora:

“Mr Thompson also told staff it was an “exciting” time to work for Delta…. “As a new chair and board we’re clear that the network needs modernising, that enough hasn’t been done in the past, that we’ll do more and faster in future.””

Modernising. Modernising.

One man dead.
Very little money at bank.

—

Whistleblower Richard Healey questioned Mr Brosnan’s appointment, saying his background was in management, not engineering. Delta did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

### ODT Online Thu, 29 Dec 2016
Director for $30m pole project
By Vaughan Elder
Lines company Aurora Energy has appointed a director to oversee its $30.25million pole replacement programme. Two memos sent to staff at Aurora’s sister company, Delta, before Christmas have been leaked to the Otago Daily Times. One is from chief executive Grady Cameron and the other from newly appointed chairman Steve Thompson. Mr Cameron outlined progress on the company’s accelerated plan to replace nearly 3000 poles in Aurora’s electricity network which is spread across Dunedin, Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes area. […] Godfrey Brosnan had been appointed programme director and would report directly to Mr Cameron.
Read more

Not an auspicious start.

[More poles! Let’s pull in slave labour from overseas….. hmm maybe we don’t even have money for that…..]

Lots of legal clouds beginning to hover over Delta/Aurora HQ at 10 Halsey St – how long can Grady Cameron, Gary Johnson, Godfrey Brosnan and Steve Thompson keep their pay ?

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: newshub.co.nz – Grady Cameron | 10 Halsey St (web image) tweaked by whatifdunedin

What GIVES : Aurora/Delta/DCHL/DCC ?? Energy Safety/WorkSafe ?? ComCom ??

Due process and natural justice demand a different outcome in the Delta/Aurora case, writes Robert Hamlin. (ODT)

### ODT Online Thu, 22 Dec 2016
Rotten process needs fixing, too
By Rob Hamlin
OPINION Employment law is a minefield, which only those who assiduously apply due process can navigate. After the publication of the damning report by Deloitte, there have been calls in this community and this newspaper for Grady Cameron, the CEO of Delta, to be removed. Any lawyer will tell you that even with this report in hand, there will be a procedure to be followed before any such removal can occur. […] Enough time has now elapsed since the Deloitte report was published for the boards of Delta and DCHL along with the DCC to make their intentions clear to the community.
Read more

● Robert Hamlin is a senior lecturer at University of Otago Department of Marketing, commenting in a personal capacity.

****

Comments at What if? Dunedin:

russandbev
2016/12/22 at 11:45 am
Of course the Dunedin Mayor, DCHL, Aurora and Delta will always say that the network is “safe” because once they admit to it NOT being safe then they are liable. Actually that raises an interesting issue. My understanding is that if an officer of the Council is aware, or made aware, of an unsafe environment or practice on or around any Council property – and that includes roadways, pathways, parks etc and does nothing about it, then that officer is personally liable for any subsequent issue. Surely Cull, as an officer, is now aware through his much delayed meeting with Richard Healey that the network is unsafe. He only needs to read the ODT to learn of the continued failures if he still can’t bring himself to accept the truth from Mr Healey. Why then is Cull not being pursued by Energy Safety or WorkSafe or the DCC internal Health and Safety personnel?

—

Alex Brown
2016/12/22 at 12:39 pm

Click to access leadership-sme-guide.pdf

Page 2 Directors Duties – “ensure company has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise those risks and uses them”
Prioritising funds for a sports stadium would not be a defence.
Ask any small business (easy target) slapped with instant fines for incorrect scaffold or any commercial truck driver who receive huge fines for safety issues.
If ever the law should be applied it is in this case. WorkSafe needs to send a clear message to troughers who love sitting on boards under the safety of Council always backed up by the ratepayer.

Alex Brown
2016/12/22 at 12:51 pm
Penalty for the Directors – 5 years imprisonment, $600k fine.
So our lawmakers also intended it be taken very seriously.

█ For more, enter the terms *aurora*, *delta*, *grady*, *luggate*, *jacks point*, *dchl*, *auditor-general*, *noble*, *yaldhurst* or *epic fraud* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: googlesnipers.org – topsecret1

Delta Workers met with ‘mgmt’

Tomorrow’s ODT….

Day editor Dave Cannan at Channel 39 News:

“Delta workers today met with management to put some questions to them.”
“We’ll have a good story about that.”

We wait.

—

Or something.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: dilbert.com by Scott Adams via pureparents.com | joyreactor.com | businessinsider.com

The EVIL Blend: Delta, Aurora, Fubar Stadium, Our Rates

Received from nick
2016/11/22 at 11:06 pm

DELTA
Think Rundown Infrastructure
Think Pigs in Troughs
Think High Living at Ratepayers Expense
Think Cynical PR Spin
Think Appalling Attitude to Public Safety
Think Expendable Linesmen
Think Bloody Hard about What Comes Next
Think Richard Healey has Shown Us Up
Think the Game Might Be Over.

****

Angina attack.

Oh my lord! Nooooo. The DCC can’t be ‘surprised’ after ALL these years (each and every year) of information slung at it about ongoing stadium spending and subvention payments (particularly by the likes of Calvin Oaten!), Not after the (effortless?) Stadium Review…. Which planet are you on, DCC ?

Some backside covering ERUPTS at ‘city hall’.

Then there’s poor Grady Cameron, he’s someone just not coping with Questions these days. Mr Cameron has turned into quite the veritable rapidly depreciating, $417M cracked record. After the ‘concretising’ Drifting event, let’s see him Put Out To Pasture at the Stadium —once DVML restores the hallowed Otago Rugby turf, of course.

—

“It is patently clear that Delta/Aurora/Dunedin City Holdings Ltd’s priority over the last few years has been to support a rugby stadium at the expense of public safety by way of subsidies/subvention payments.” –Bev Butler

### ODT Online Mon, 28 Nov 2016
Delta payments to stadium queried
By David Loughrey
The Dunedin councillor charged with overseeing Delta and Aurora says the beleaguered companies should be concentrating on their business and health and safety before pouring money into the Forsyth Barr Stadium. That came after it was revealed the companies have paid $29.9 million in subvention payments to the stadium in the past five years. It also appears a Deloitte investigation into the companies will consider the payments issue.

“In no way should people’s health and safety be compromised because we’re trying to pay for a stadium.” –Cr Mike Lord

A Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request from stadium critic Bev Butler, passed to the Otago Daily Times, showed the extent of the payments. It also showed Delta had paid $392,499 on its corporate suite and other costs at the stadium since 2010. The details of the spending come after weeks of criticism of the companies in which it has been revealed infrastructure has not been maintained, leaving thousands of power poles compromised and potentially dangerous.
Read more

● ODT: Stadium drifting track build ‘ambitious’
The turf at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin handles 1600kg scrums with ease but it is now bearing a load 500 times heavier….

—

On the issue of the corporate suite, Mr Cameron said like any large business, “from time to time we host our customers to strengthen the working relationships”. (ODT)

So, Grady:
Question, you splurge Many Dollars on your main customer – Aurora Energy – by entertaining them at the Stadium? The champagne lifestyle. On Our Money.

—

Related Post and Comments: [THE CHEAPIE INVOICES]
22.11.16 Delta/Aurora spend-up at Stadium —Degraded electricity network, Us ? (said the GOBs) #LGOIMA #Rugby

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *dchl*, *grady*, *cameron*, *crombie*, *noble*, *yaldhurst* or *epic fraud* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Douglas Field 18.11.16 [click to enlarge]

DCC on Safety of Aurora/Delta network (remember Stadium Review, Citifleet, South Dunedin flood et al)

THE DEPLORABLE JOKE THAT IS LOCAL BODY GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT AT DUNEDIN
…. wait for the soft audit review by Deloitte [watching paint dry]
…. DON’T meet or respond to the WHISTLEBLOWER in any capacity
…. be on the DEFENSIVE because you’re that Professional
…. DON’T for godsake issue ANY media release to Ratepayers and Residents on HOW TO STAY SAFE given the DANGEROUS and DEGRADED Aurora/Delta network —which can injure or kill.

It is true that whistleblower Richard Healey has contacted the Mayor of Dunedin to offer overview and discussion but the Mayor has NOT responded.

—

### ODT Online Sat, 26 Nov 2016
DCC takes pole risk seriously, CEO says
By Vaughan Elder
The Dunedin City Council has denied being soft on Aurora Energy over the risk to the public caused by rotting poles. The Central Otago District Council (CODC) has been applauded by whistle-blower Richard Healey for asking a series of questions over the danger presented by compromised poles, but he has called on other councils in the region to take a tougher line.
….[DCC chief executive Sue Bidrose] disputed Mr Healey’s suggestion the council was more concerned about its role as owner of Aurora and Delta than health and safety.
Read more

****

The Public absolutely know Delta “is guilty of “spin” and trying to minimise the enormity of the issues it faces over safety and network maintenance”.

### ODT Online Sat, 26 Nov 2016
The questions we asked Delta/Aurora
Aurora Energy and its sister company Delta have had another rough couple of weeks as allegations they have mismanaged Dunedin and Central Otago’s power network continue to mount. The two companies regularly choose not to answer questions posed by the Otago Daily Times. Here are some of those questions, which chief executive Grady Cameron belatedly responded to yesterday.
Read more

ODT —Question 5. What is Delta’s response to the suggestion from two current staff that most people who work in the field support Richard Healey’s stance and think it is a good think (sic) he went public?
Mr Cameron: “The feedback I have received from our people in the field is that they welcome the increased investment being planned for the Aurora Energy network.”

That says it all.
No one on the Aurora/Delta executive or the Boards has -For Years- given a flying toss about YOUR Health and Safety —not while they’ve troughed, not while they’ve supported the DCHL regime to pay DCC unholy dividends.
We know The Guilty, can Name and Vilify Every Last One of Them.

DVL/DVML/DCHL/DCC money pit [cost to Ratepayers +$20M per annum]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: channel39.co.nz – dave cull, bw whatifdunedin | espnscrum.com – stadium build, tweaked by whatifdunedin

Delta poles : CODC beats DCC to the safety gun, SO not surprising

Tomorrow’s ODT….

At Channel 39 News this evening editor Barry Stewart says:

“Central Otago District Council has turned up the heat on Delta over unsafe poles. So they’re calling for a report on all their endangered poles, and they want to get that sorted.”

Well. It’s not like DCC is nearly so proactive. Mayor Cull’s dwindling idea of Leadership does not accord with Social Responsibility. What. No, at Dunedin there is only THE PERCEPTION of a problem, worth $30M.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Bullswool at Delta never ends

Far from being bullet proof – the credibility is by now well and truly SCORCHED and in tatters. Time to walk, or be pushed. A liability to all power users in Dunedin and Central Otago.

It’s not just about the poles. The Aurora Energy electricity network, managed by Delta Utility Services, is degraded and downright dangerous.

—

“I rejected the claim that shareholder [Dunedin City Council] demands were impacting safety outcomes.” –Grady Cameron (email)

### ODT Online Wed, 23 Nov 2016
Delta/Aurora ‘in good hands with advisers’
By Vaughan Elder
Aurora Energy chief executive Grady Cameron was told to keep his head up and “not get too stressed” as accusations mounted over rotten power poles. The email exchange between Mr Cameron and an unnamed person from another lines company was one of a number of documents provided to the Otago Daily Times after a Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act request. The short exchange on October 21 came only days after former Delta worker Richard Healey went public with his concerns, setting off a chain of events which culminated in multiple investigations and an accelerated plan to replace ageing poles.
Read more

34% of staff thought senior management were honest and straightforward in their dealings with staff. (Which is 19 percentage points below average) –The Survey (Cerno)

—

Spotted ….allegedly, ‘loud-mouthed’ and under the influence in Dunedin’s main street the same day Richard Healey went public…. the executive cares so much for the companies, the staff, and the general public. Epitaph to a young fool with no management expertise or health and safety learning.

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *dchl*, *poles*, *epic fraud* or *noble* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

At ODT : DCC (oblivious) sound bites on Delta/Aurora #letters

Updated post
Sat, 19 Nov 2016 at 3:16 a.m.

—

ODT 18.11.16 (page 10)

Douglas Field 18.11.16

N O T E
All the street lights between Green Island and North East Valley went out earlier this evening (Friday). The CBD now has lights back on, no idea about the rest.

?????

[later]
### ODT Online Fri, 18 Nov 2016
Street lights out in Dunedin
By Timothy Brown
Dunedin was plunged into darkness tonight after the city’s streetlights did not turn on. Delta marketing and communications manager Gary Johnson said the lights were scheduled to turn on at 8.52pm, but the automatic activation never occurred. Reports of the issue from around the city started circulating social media about 9.30pm. The lights were switched on manually from 9.50pm and all lights were confirmed on by 10.10pm, Mr Johnson said. “We apologise for any inconvenience and will be carrying out further investigation to pinpoint the reason the switching did not operate automatically as scheduled,” he said. Link

Updated at ODT Online: Street lights fail to turn on

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Delta’s PR consultant

WHEN Delta’s ‘award winning’ young executive Grady Cameron, the Delta Board – woebegone* directors Ian Parton (from 25 Oct 2012), Stuart McLauchlan (1 Jun 2007), David Frow (25 Oct 2012), Trevor Kempton (1 Nov 2013) and Stephen Thompson [Deloitte!] (1 Jun 2016) – the rotten-tooth chair of DCHL Graham Crombie, and the Mayor of City Liabilities and Risk Dave Cull FAIL to Communicate Honestly with the concerned public on Delta’s utter degradation and collapse of Our electricity network —What Do You Do ?

You send in the crows or, a PR clown.

None other than public relations consultant and former broadcaster Spiro Anastasiou. Mr Ana-sneeze rates himself as “a strategic communications specialist with extensive experience in managing issues of public and political sensitivity”. The newest partner in SenateSHJ’s Wellington office, who heads their government relations practice. He returns to consulting “from a role leading strategic communications at the Ministry of Health where he managed the Ministry’s public information programme during the Swine Flu pandemic and was seconded to the Canterbury earthquake response in the All of Government communications role during the two and half month state of national emergency”. Ana-sneeze joined the Ministry of Health “….after more than 10 years consulting in a range of sectors where he provided strategic advice and tactical support to CEOs and senior leaders. This included specialist projects such as industrial relations and change, many with a very high public profile.” Ana-sneeze’s strength is his experience in “….building successful working relationships and a proven track record in government relations. He has excellent media and communication skills developed during a 15 year career in broadcast journalism before he entered consultancy….a native Wellingtonian [blahblah] He enjoys reading and cooking, is a keen fisherman and an enthusiastic golfer.”

Let’s see where this goes —and if Grady and Spiro darling, are to be seen golfing together or co-occupying Delta’s corporate box at the Stadium – on which we have cameras trained. It was bad enough having to secret-squirrel GPS trackers to All (excessive numbers of) company vehicles two weeks ago.

*Understatement, meaning incompetent and grossly negligent.

—

The Varmints:

● Delta Utility Services Ltd http://www.companies.govt.nz/co/453486

● Aurora Energy Ltd http://www.companies.govt.nz/co/471661
[Mr Thompson of Deloitte appointed 20 Jun 2016]

● Dunedin City Holdings Ltd http://www.companies.govt.nz/co/559098

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Delta mobile substation, Willis St [industrial/port area]

Sat, 12 Nov 2016 at 3.13 p.m.
Christchurch Driver [CD] phones in a query about the Delta truck parked at Dunedin harbourside: “This jury rig set-up has been in place for at least 6 months – Richard may have more info.”

Photos received at 10:21 p.m.

Images: CD

—

What if? query to Richard
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 at 5:42 p.m.
Someone is about to send me photos (not sure when today), of what I think from their description must be a mobile substation? There’s a Delta truck hooked into the network on Willis St, Dunedin harbourside, it’s been there for a few months – can you tell me what the truck is and what it’s there for? – Presumably delivering for local businesses in the industrial zone ? Typically these trucks (if a substation?) are used for continuous supply while maintenance is carried out but given how long this one’s been parked we wonder why the lengthy deployment.

DCC Webmap – Location of Delta mobile substation (arrowed), 24 Willis St

—

Reply from Richard Healey
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 at 6:03 p.m.

Yes, that is a mobile substation. It was installed to take the load of a failed transformer nearby. Classic Delta story.
The network refuse to keep strategic spares. Transformers have a 12-week lead time. In this case we ordered a transformer and installed it near that mobile sub but another transformer failed just as we were about to liven it and we pulled it out again to replace the new failure.

A short while ago we had five transformers fail in one night (lightning). Because there are no spares we ended up going to the scrap pile and pulling out five discarded transformers. After painting over the letter s on the side of each one we changed the oil, tested them and put them back on poles.

The second failed transformer was on the corner of Strathallen Street and Andy Bay Road. It was hit by a car.
That means waiting another 12 weeks for a replacement.

[ends]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Delta/Aurora : Current strategy to “fix on failure” [extreme neglect]

ODT stories provide truly abhorrent insights.

█ Power poles are just the tip of the iceberg as Dunedin’s creaking electricity network shows signs of neglect across the board.

“In 10 years, we’re looking at re-reticulating the entire CBD of Dunedin. What do you think that’s going to cost? Hundreds of millions ain’t gonna touch it.” –Richard Healey

### ODT Online Sat, 12 Nov 2016
Insight | Aurora’s woes
Network ‘decayed, neglected’
By Chris Morris
Richard Healey says it is a miracle the lights have stayed on in Dunedin as parts of the city’s ageing electricity network threaten to implode. The former Delta worker, who resigned to blow the whistle last month, has been outspoken about the state of thousands of power poles across Aurora’s network. But the poles were just one symptom of wider neglect that has left Aurora’s network at risk of multiple failures, Mr Healey believed. And nowhere was that threat more critical than within the ageing web of high-voltage 33kV underground electricity cables, dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, still powering Dunedin. […] It was a claim reinforced by Aurora, which identified the cables as “perhaps the most significant risk of a catastrophic asset failure” facing the city in its 10-year asset management plan. The risk was also pinpointed by consultant Strata Energy Ltd, in a report on Aurora’s network for the Commerce Commission, in 2013. Despite that, Aurora’s asset management plan said failure of the 33kV cables remained “extremely rare”, and “as a result our current strategy is to fix on failure”.

Mr Healey said the network’s problems were the inevitable consequences of inadequate investment. “It’s not aged — it’s decayed. It’s not deferred maintenance — it’s neglect.

What was known was that other cities had “vigorously” replaced their cables, and Dunedin appeared to be “out of whack with the rest of the world”. He described a network littered with equipment either broken or operating well beyond manufacturers’ specifications. […] Delta chief executive Grady Cameron would not answer questions about the state of the network, the risks it posed to safety, or the likely total cost of renewal, this week. Instead, Aurora board chairman Dr Ian Parton, in an email, would say only the issues were being addressed “at an operational level” and it was not appropriate to discuss them with media.
Read more + Videos

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### ODT Online Sat, 12 Nov 2016
Every day at Delta a ‘storm’
By Chris Morris
Aurora Energy is still insisting its electricity network is safe, despite logging more than 60 “high or extreme risk” public safety incidents — most involving falling power poles — in a year, it has been confirmed. The revelation came as another former Delta worker came forward to tell the Otago Daily Times it was a struggle on a “daily basis” to keep the lights on in Dunedin. Delta manages Aurora’s network. Geoff Lyell said he was shocked by the state of Aurora’s network when he took a job as system control operator in 2013.
….There were good staff at Delta but many kept their heads down and asset management staff were victims of the company’s “financial constraint”, he said. That constraint was a result of Delta and Aurora being expected to deliver large profits to the Dunedin City Council, which was “mainlining” on profits. “They can’t get off this drug.”
Read more

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### ODT Online Sat, 12 Nov 2016
Pole hit, power cut to two houses
By Vaughan Elder
Power was cut to two houses in Mornington when an 86-year-old power pole was struck by a truck yesterday afternoon. A spokeswoman said police were called to Argyle St just before 2pm after a truck struck the pole, bringing down a telephone line. […] The Otago Daily Times understands the pole, which was red-tagged indicating it was unsafe to climb, was installed in 1930 and in 2013 was identified as “condition one”, meaning it was not fit for design load.
Read more

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Related Posts and Comments:
11.11.16 Healey responds to statements in today’s ODT —Delta #WorkSafety…
10.11.16 Delta goes for *cheapie Chinese steel poles in replacement
9.11.16 Delta/Aurora warned, renewed calls for Grady Cameron to resign
8.11.16 Delta/Aurora neglect, letters to ODT
6.11.16 Healey responds to DCHL terms of reference for Delta review
4.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 6 – Thick as a Brick
2.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 5 : Grady Cameron on RNZ : How many Asset…
1.11.16 Delta/Aurora/DCHL corporate whitewash #dangerousnetwork
● 31.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 4 : Delta/Aurora, Drugs and Dividends
29.10.16 Mr Crombie, not quite the spent force
28.10.16 Heads of Delta/ Aurora/ DCHL/ DCC out to lunch
27.10.16 Bev Butler says ‘Come in, Grady’ #LGOIMA #Delta
27.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 3 : Rotten Poles and Greedy Algorithms
25.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 2 : Plaudits to Saunders & Elder : Delta…
22.10.16 DCC struggles with Governance…. Delta/Aurora/DCHL…
21.10.16 Dunedin City Council must hang the companies out to dry
20.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail : Delta fulfils Adam Smith’s 1776 Prophecy
19.10.16 Grady Cameron and Graham Crombie : Eyes tightly shut #FAIL
13.10.16 COMPLETE Dis-satisfaction with DCC, DCHL, DVML, DVL, Delta….
9.6.16 Aurora Energy Ltd warned by regulator

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *epic fraud* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: clipart – power pole silhouette by robert kim karen on deviantart

Healey responds to statements in today’s ODT —Delta #WorkSafety #PublicSafety

From: Richard Healey
Sent: Friday, 11 November 2016 9:04 a.m.
To: Elizabeth Kerr
Subject: Latest ODT article response (also posted to FB)

Uh huh….. “while some functions and responsibilities might change”. Translation: Some of the people who have been fighting to get the hazards on the network fixed will now be reporting directly to the people who have been refusing to fix them.

Overall staff numbers will increase slightly – an accountant, two engineers and an asset management guy have already resigned in the last month. Yes, with an additional $30M dollars to spend you might need a few more people.

Why are you spending that money again? Oh yes, to appease public perception.

When I am told by my ex colleagues that their staff are coming to them in tears and that stress levels are through the roof then I am pretty sure that the guys minds will not be concentrating on keeping safe or keeping their workmates safe.

Remember what the chairman and the mayor were saying two weeks ago? If the allegations that the condition of the network posed a threat to the safety of the people who worked on it or the public then heads would roll.

I asked Deloitte, the terms of reference do not include that question. They ask if there are “other” high risk safety issues on the network. Mayor Cull is on record as saying he is now happy with Delta’s approach to handling the 3000 unsafe poles. An approach completely out of step with every other company in New Zealand.

And about Deloitte, the office managing partner of the Deloite Dunedin office, Stephen Thompson, is on the board of – you guessed it – Delta. Grady Cameron won the Deloitte young executive of the year award in 2014.

All you guys still battling at Delta, look after yourselves and look after each other. Your bosses may have their blinkers superglued in place but you and I know the stress you are under.

So here is my offer, I will take any Council member, or any Delta/Aurora board member on a tour of the network. I will show them at first hand dangers that are present. I will answer any relevant question they have. The offer applies to any Councillor who represents an area covered by the Aurora Network.

[ends]

The Question
DOES THE STATE OF THE AURORA NETWORK POSE AN UNACCEPTABLE RISK TO THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON IT AND TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY ?

█ 27.10.16 Detailed map of dangerous poles [Dunedin]
The Otago Daily Times has been leaked a detailed map showing the location of dangerous power poles in Dunedin.

█ 29.10.16 Detailed map of dangerous poles – Central Otago and Queenstown
The Otago Daily Times has been leaked a detailed map showing the location of dangerous power poles in Central Otago and Queenstown.

Note: Aurora’s “aged network” also comprises other assets and facilities requiring replacement, not just power poles.

****

### ODT Online Fri, 11 Nov 2016
Lines staff also facing restructure
By Vaughan Elder
Delta staff already reeling from the power-poles scandal are being hit with the threat of restructuring. This comes as Mayor Dave Cull suggested whistleblower Richard Healey should stop being critical in the media and instead focus on helping the Deloitte investigation into Aurora and Delta. Mr Healey said Delta should put its restructure on hold for a few months while the company rolled out its accelerated plan to replace almost 3000 poles and dealt with three separate investigations. This meant already stressed staff members had the added stress of potentially losing their jobs, which was a “recipe for disaster”. […] Mr Healey had been told almost 70 positions could be affected by the restructuring, which included people losing their job or their roles changing. He was also concerned Deloitte, which was appointed by Dunedin City Holdings Ltd to review Aurora and Delta, was not going to look at whether the state of power poles presented a safety risk to workers and the public. Poles were not mentioned in the review’s terms of reference and after speaking to a Deloitte staff member he got the impression the issue was not part of the review. He would still talk to Deloitte to highlight other safety problems with Aurora’s network but felt the review was flawed. “The primary question is not there.” He would continue to raise his concerns in the media until Mr Cull and others accepted his argument there was a serious safety issue.
Read more

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### ODT Online Fri, 11 Nov 2016
Delta/Aurora board query for DCHL
By David Loughrey
Three councillors are demanding an answer to what one says is the “big flashing light” question about Dunedin and Central Otago’s compromised power pole infrastructure. At the Dunedin City Council’s first meeting since councillors were sworn in last month they will vote on a notice of motion to ask council-owned holding company Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL) to “urgently advise” whether it still has confidence in the board  of Delta and Aurora.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Delta goes for *cheapie Chinese steel poles in replacement

Delta has 1181 red-tagged power poles. The rest of the country has 321.

### Stuff.co.nz Thu, 10 Nov 2016 Last updated 12:29 PM
Under-fire Otago lines company has most of NZ’s red-tagged power poles
By Hamish McNeilly
An under-fire Otago lines company has more than three times as many dangerous power poles as the rest of the country combined. Delta came under scrutiny after former manager-turned-whistleblower Richard Healey said its power poles were dangerous. A survey of all 29 lines companies found Delta had 1181 poles rated condition 0, the lowest level. Other lines companies had different rating systems, but together had 321 “red-tagged” poles across four companies. […] Healey said since going public there had been a rush by lines companies to secure New Zealand-made concrete power poles, “but when Delta got in there the cupboard was bare”. Instead the company was forced to secure Chinese-manufactured power poles from an Australian supplier. Given concerns raised over Chinese steel Healey feared “rushing [those poles] into service may introduce a few problems they may not expect”. In a statement the company downplayed those concerns, but declined to reveal the origin of the poles.
Read more

Steel power poles – China

****

At Facebook:

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Note to pole image (China) sourced from diytrade.com; this does not imply Delta is using diytrade.com for supply.

Delta/Aurora warned, renewed calls for Grady Cameron to resign

The review was evidence Mr Cameron’s actions went beyond “wilful ignorance” and were in the category of “feathering your own nest at the risk of other people’s wellbeing”. –Richard Healey

### ODT Online Wed, 9 Nov 2016
Delta ignored warning
By Vaughan Elder
Delta was warned six years ago about the exact scenario unfolding now involving rotting power poles, but failed to act. The warning, in a review by LineTech Consultants, which was given to the Otago Daily Times by a fresh source, has prompted renewed calls for Delta and Aurora chief executive Grady Cameron to resign over his failure to address the issues it clearly signalled. Senior consultant Alastair Glyn-Jones said in the review unless Delta significantly accelerated pole replacement it would be forced in the “immediate future” to replace “very large numbers of poles” in a short time.
Read more

█ Alastair Glyn-Jones is now the Service Delivery / Maintenance Manager at Transpower New Zealand, responsible for managing service providers for transmission cable assets, and site grounds and buildings in the north of the north island (NNI), including maintenance of station assets from Auckland to Kaitaia.

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Related Posts and Comments:
8.11.16 Delta/Aurora neglect, letters to ODT
6.11.16 Healey responds to DCHL terms of reference for Delta review
4.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 6 – Thick as a Brick
2.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 5 : Grady Cameron on RNZ : How many Asset…
1.11.16 Delta/Aurora/DCHL corporate whitewash #dangerousnetwork
31.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 4 : Delta/Aurora, Drugs and Dividends
29.10.16 Mr Crombie, not quite the spent force
28.10.16 Heads of Delta/ Aurora/ DCHL/ DCC out to lunch
27.10.16 Bev Butler says ‘Come in, Grady’ #LGOIMA #Delta
27.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 3 : Rotten Poles and Greedy Algorithms
25.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 2 : Plaudits to Saunders & Elder : Delta…
22.10.16 DCC struggles with Governance…. Delta/Aurora/DCHL…
21.10.16 Dunedin City Council must hang the companies out to dry
20.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail : Delta fulfils Adam Smith’s 1776 Prophecy
19.10.16 Grady Cameron and Graham Crombie : Eyes tightly shut #FAIL
13.10.16 COMPLETE Dis-satisfaction with DCC, DCHL, DVML, DVL, Delta….
9.6.16 Aurora Energy Ltd warned by regulator

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *epic fraud* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: newshub.co.nz – grady cameron, tweaked by whatifdunedin

Delta/Aurora neglect, letters to ODT

ODT 5.11.16 (page 30)

ODT 5.11.16 (page 30)

ODT 1.11.16 (page 6)

█ Now we know Mr Stephens, ex DCC CFO of the infamous ‘Jim Harland stadium years’, has moved to Queenstown Lakes like the rest of the Good Old Boys. How interesting. The location hasn’t improved his sense of decorum at all.

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O P I N I O N

2.11.16 ODT: History shows power to the people lost
Delta’s woes will be shared with Central Otago, writes Nick Loughnan. What Central Otago once owned with its electricity assets, and was forced to give up, is still fresh in the minds of many of its residents as the operations of Dunedin City Council-owned Delta come under the spotlight yet again after a very courageous and selfless call on public safety by one of its senior employees. A little history will explain how. Cont/

29.10.16 ODT Editorial: The rot must stop
The Companies Act 1993 imposes a number of obligations on companies and their directors. How a company operates is also determined by its constitution — if it has one. A constitution sets out the rights, powers and duties of the company, the board, each director and each shareholder. A director of a company must not act, or agree to the company acting, in a manner that contravenes the Act or the constitution of the company. The Act says directors are responsible for managing the company’s day-to-day business. Directors must act honestly, in what they believe to be the best interests of the company, and with such care as may reasonably be expected of them in all the circumstances. Directors must not carry on the business in a manner likely to create a substantial risk of serious loss to the company’s creditors — reckless trading. Exactly what this involves will vary from company to company and for Dunedin City Council-controlled Delta, Aurora and Dunedin City Holdings, now is the time to investigate exactly how the duties of a director impact on the current situation in which this city finds itself. Through ongoing investigations by the Otago Daily Times, it has been revealed the state of the Delta and Aurora businesses are not what ratepayers have been led to believe. Cont/

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Healey responds to DCHL terms of reference for Delta review

Received from Richard Healey
Sun, 6 Nov 2016 at 1:40 p.m.

So, two weeks ago the story was that heads would roll “if the accusations prove true”.

Let’s recap. I sent a letter outlining my concern that the state of the Aurora Network constitutes an unacceptable and potentially fatal risk for the workforce at Delta and the community in Dunedin and Central Otago.

No response, my letter of resignation arrives.

I turn up for work the next morning and expect the discussion to start. Two managers are told to remove me from the building and not to let me have contact with other staff. One is told to sit in the car with me and return to Dunedin. I am told that there will be a meeting with the CEO and the GM Strategy and Risk.

Before we make it to Dunedin that meeting is cancelled. I receive an email from the GM Energy and Communication advising me to withdraw my resignation and complaining about the “tone” of my email.

The CEO goes on national television and tells the world that he would have loved to discuss the issues with me, but I resigned before he had a chance.

Heads up Grady, I was at work the next day, my phone was on, I still had a thirty day notice period, the company had me removed before discussion could take place. YOU cancelled the meeting that I was told to expect.

The chairman of the DCHL board is quoted in the press as saying heads will roll (ODT 29.10.16) if the accusations prove true. The terms of reference for the review are in the article below. Here’s the question that’s not asked, the only one which is relevant :

DOES THE STATE OF THE AURORA NETWORK POSE AN UNACCEPTABLE RISK TO THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON IT AND TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY?

Where’s that question Mr Crombie?!

[ends]

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At Facebook:

****

█ Facebook: Richard Healey

Richard Healey [newshub.co.nz] | ODT 29.10.16 classified p51

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Related Posts and Comments:
4.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 6 – Thick as a Brick
2.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 5 : Grady Cameron on RNZ : How many Asset…
1.11.16 Delta/Aurora/DCHL corporate whitewash #dangerousnetwork
31.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 4 : Delta/Aurora, Drugs and Dividends
29.10.16 Mr Crombie, not quite the spent force
28.10.16 Heads of Delta/ Aurora/ DCHL/ DCC out to lunch
27.10.16 Bev Butler says ‘Come in, Grady’ #LGOIMA #Delta
27.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 3 : Rotten Poles and Greedy Algorithms
25.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 2 : Plaudits to Saunders & Elder : Delta…
22.10.16 DCC struggles with Governance…. Delta/Aurora/DCHL…
21.10.16 Dunedin City Council must hang the companies out to dry
20.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail : Delta fulfils Adam Smith’s 1776 Prophecy
19.10.16 Grady Cameron and Graham Crombie : Eyes tightly shut #FAIL
13.10.16 COMPLETE Dis-satisfaction with DCC, DCHL, DVML, DVL, Delta….
9.6.16 Aurora Energy Ltd warned by regulator

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *epic fraud* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Delta #EpicPowerFail 6 – Thick as a Brick

Received from Christchurch Driver [CD]
Thu, 3 Nov 2016 at 10:59 p.m.

Thick as a brick
Shallow as a bird bath
Not the sharpest knife in the drawer
A few sandwiches short of a picnic
Bought his doctorate online.

Come in Dr Parton….

Your correspondent was both entertained and aghast this morning when enjoying Choysa and a scone, he read Dr Parton, Aurora chair, dutifully parroting Grady Cameron’s lines in the ODT …. “aged network”, “our approach to its management is conservative”. Dr (Polly) Parton also said “it was “not appropriate” for him to respond to comments made by another chairman”. Your correspondent agrees it is not “appropriate”. It is essential to his credibility to do so, as Polly Parton is right – it is amazing that the chairman of a lines company, far away, has felt the need to make scathing comments about the lackadaisical approach to essential infrastructure he has found in the South, and called Aurora’s response “a lame excuse”. When did you last hear the CEO of a council make scathing comments about another ? —or one mayor disparage another in biting terms. It just isn’t done…. so now the attention of the entire lines industry, and the Commerce Commission is riveted upon Aurora as it has just been confirmed by the chair of Marlborough Lines, with no axe to grind, that Aurora’s mess and subsequent evasions are inexcusable.

Some other gems of the re-cycled obvious from Polly in the ODT were “Age … is one reason why we have marked so many poles for replacement” – how fascinating that the board and Mr Cameron only discovered these 40- to 60-year-old poles were aged and needed replacement around the time Mr Healey left three weeks ago.

Readers, while Aurora and Delta have an arrogant disregard for the interest of the consumers and ratepayers, they are very fearful of the Commerce Commission. And the Commerce Commission is under no illusions about the incompetence of Aurora. Not only did Aurora get warned for network failures this year, and are now ranked in the bottom 3 of the 29 lines companies for reliability, they were also warned about their lack of investment and incompetence in 2014 by the Commission.

On 26 June 2014 the Commission wrote to Aurora issuing them with a warning for non-compliance and raising concerns. They said:

“21. There are a number of concerns that we would particularly like to draw to Aurora’s attention … These concerns are:

21.1 Aurora’s vegetation control has been insufficient to prevent significant tree encroachment on lines, which has likely contributed to the frequency and duration of outages….”
Mr Cameron took great delight in waxing lyrical about the dedicated vegetation management unit Delta set up in 2015-16, and how Delta charged Aurora $4M for clearing 34km of lines. We now know it wasn’t anything to do with Mr Cameron, it was forced upon them by the Commerce Commission because they had neglected it for decades. In true Delta form, the cost of $130,000 per km is probably overstated by a factor of 5-10 dependent on difficulty.

“21.2 Aurora has had an increase in defective equipment incidents”.
Oh yes. Aurora’s own Asset Management Plan (AMP) spells out the failures, and impending ones, as noted in #EpicPowerFail 5. In relation to poles, Aurora reduced the number of poles it was going to replace in 2017-18, in its 2016-2026 plan, due to the mendacity of Matt Ballard, GM Capability & Risk. Reacting to public pressure and casting aside the long term plan due to a “perception problem”, without a funding plan in place is just giving the Commerce Commission all the evidence they need that the board isn’t in control and doesn’t know what it’s doing.

“21.3 There seems to be shortcomings in Aurora’s knowledge of its asset condition”.
….(Translated from bureaucratic-ese, this is : YOU ARE USELESS AND INCOMPETENT, and everything we have heard from Aurora recently confirms that this fault has become exponentially worse.

“21.4 Aurora’s reliance on its 6.6kV network as a back up to its aging 33kV cables in Dunedin could lead to major power outages.”

Ominously for the Directors, the Commission was clear about the consequences of further non-compliance, warning Aurora :

“Notwithstanding its 2013 and 2014 compliance, if Aurora fails to comply with the quality standards again, its 2012 non-compliance will be a relevant factor that may lead us towards a stronger enforcement response. Particularly relevant would be the extent to which concerns raised following Aurora’s 2012 non-compliance contributed to the second non-compliance.”

Here we are, four years later, and 3 of the 4 concerns are front and centre of the latest crisis. A lot of words have been written, meetings held, and plans begun, but the network has continued to decline. Unless the Commerce Commission has another spineless apologist like Rebstock of the Audit Office investigating, then the springs in the boardroom ejector seats are tightening.

Readers, we are all frustrated that Mr Cameron, Mr Ballard, and the directors have not a thread of integrity left among them, preferring eventual forcible removal (health problems anyone ?) to decency. But readers, how delicious will it be when they are kicked out, as that will almost certainly be the end of all of their directorial ambitions. Getting kicked out by the Government is the sort of thing that even the Institute of Directors would frown upon, despite overlooking a lot of other venality. As noted at What if?, the Government cannot afford to have tourists killed or suffering from power outages in their #1 tourist region in Central Otago, so it will not be open for Mr McLauchlan to go crawling to Minister Woodhouse, who doesn’t carry a lot of weight now in any case. McLauchlan’s other great fixer, fellow South Canterbury Finance trougher, Denham Shale, is now dead. Mr McLauchlan feeling the chilled air of exposure perhaps ? Perversely, we can be glad that Messrs Parton, Kempton, Thompson, McLauchlan and Frow are all….“thick as a brick”.

Final thought for the evening. If you were Grady Cameron and the board, and wanted to quickly replace 10,000 poles to “restore public confidence” then does buying steel poles from China that are made from less ductile steel (ie more brittle) sound like a good plan ? (Chinese steel is typically 20-25% ductile, whereas NZ seismic requirements generally require 32-34% ductility. It is near impossible to get Chinese steel at this ductility. A recent example is the problems with steel products imported from China by Steel & Tube). Yes readers, you heard it here first, not only did Mr Cameron fail to tell you where the $30M was coming from (they don’t know yet), he also neglected to mention they are buying steel poles from China. And remember, readers, not only did Mr Cameron describe this as “a good plan” on National Radio, but that he “was excited by it”. Truly…… “thick as a brick”.

[ends]

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Related Posts and Comments:
2.11.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 5 : Grady Cameron on RNZ : How many Asset Management Plans does it take to get a Real One ?
1.11.16 Delta/Aurora/DCHL corporate whitewash #dangerousnetwork
31.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 4 : Delta/Aurora, Drugs and Dividends
29.10.16 Mr Crombie, not quite the spent force
28.10.16 Heads of Delta/ Aurora/ DCHL/ DCC out to lunch
27.10.16 Bev Butler says ‘Come in, Grady’ #LGOIMA #Delta
27.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 3 : Rotten Poles and Greedy Algorithms
25.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail 2 : Plaudits to Saunders & Elder : Delta…
22.10.16 DCC struggles with Governance…. Delta/Aurora/DCHL…
21.10.16 Dunedin City Council must hang the companies out to dry
20.10.16 Delta #EpicPowerFail : Delta fulfils Adam Smith’s 1776 Prophecy
19.10.16 Grady Cameron and Graham Crombie : Eyes tightly shut #FAIL
13.10.16 COMPLETE Dis-satisfaction with DCC, DCHL, DVML, DVL, Delta….
9.6.16 Aurora Energy Ltd warned by regulator

█ For more, enter the terms *delta*, *aurora*, *epic fraud* or *dchl* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: pinimg.com – gary larson the far side, tweaked