Vegetation management involves monitoring vegetation growing in close proximity to network assets, liaising with landowners and tree owners, and trimming and removing vegetation to keep it clear of overhead lines.

Vegetation can have a notable impact upon Network safety and reliability. Trees in close proximity to live conductors pose a risk of electrocution and fire to our people and our local communities. Further, such events can result in significant damage to our network equipment prompting network outages. On a national level, vegetation is one of the main contributors to unplanned SAIDI and SAIFI performance.

Effective vegetation management ensures that Aurora Energy adheres to existing regulations, namely the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 which establishes the rights and responsibilities for network owners regarding vegetation that encroaches overhead lines.
Our current approach is largely reactive, responding to issues as they are identified by line inspections, notification, or after faults. We are moving to a more proactive, cyclical approach, which will give us better visibility of the status of vegetation around overhead lines, enabling us to minimise risk.

Our approach to delivering vegetation management is currently based on 'zones' that correspond to each Transpower Grid Exit Point (GXP) in Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago, and Dunedin. The GXP's include Frankton, Cromwell and Clyde in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes. In Dunedin, the GXP's include South Dunedin and Halfway Bush that, due to proximity, we manage together.

Aurora Energy are now seeking to competitively tender the vegetation management in the Frankton zone that includes all electricity feeders from the Frankton GXP.

The intended Scope of Work for this RFP is summarised below:

• Identification, inspection and assessment
• Notification and liaison
• Preliminary works
• Physical works (cutting, trimming, felling)
• Annual planning
• Reporting