The upgrade of the Transpower interisland electricity link at Benmore is a family affair for an Otematata family.
Three generations of one family - Peter Brown (64), his daughter Deborah Simpson (40) and her son Braden (16) - have all been working on what is known as the Transpower Pole 3 project at Benmore since early December.
The Benmore upgrade is part of the $672 million upgrade of the HVDC (high-voltage direct-current) link, which includes the Cook Strait cable, between the two islands.
Being on the same site working on the same project has not affected family relationships.
"Otematata is a small town so we were used to seeing each other every day. The site is so big and there is a large number here, that we really only see each other at smoko and lunch breaks," Mrs Simpson said.
Mr Brown came to Otematata in 1967, intending to stay for five years.
"We loved the area so much we have been here since then," he said.
Mrs Simpson and Braden have both lived in Otematata all their lives.
Mr Brown started with the former New Zealand Electricity Department (NZED) as a mechanic in the workshop. About a year later he became an operator in the control room at Benmore.
Later, he worked for the Electricity Corporation New Zealand (ECNZ) and Meridian Energy, which he left in 1997 to work full-time for the company he established, Otematata Engineering.
He is working as a subcontractor on Benmore Pole 3 on steel and welding.
Mrs Simpson is on site as administrator for electrical engineering company Electrix, another subcontractor.
She also worked for ECNZ from 1989 and then for Lazer Tech in the Waitaki Valley.
Braden is in year 12 at Waitaki Boys' High School and scored a holiday job on site with Electrix, working 10 hours a day, five days a week. He hopes to put some of what he earns towards buying a car.
When he leaves Waitaki Boys' he plans to go to university, where he will major in geology.
