Lawyer Shelley Munro, the spokeswoman for the group, said about a month ago residents noticed black waratahs being placed on the road edge along Findlay and East Rds, Mill Rd South, Mason Rd and on to Gorge Rd, on its way to Awarua.
They were surprised to find out it was PowerNet installing about 100 power poles.
"We found out the idea was to have 21m-high power poles with four cross bars of 4.4m-wide along a 19.6km line. It is huge — a monstrosity."
After talk among the group, they found out the power company had approached some residents in order to discuss compensation for the poles in their properties.
Mrs Munro said one of the residents went to check what effect the poles would have on their property’s value and they were told "it would have a catastrophic effect on the value of your home".
"So now the pole is being placed 5 metres from their home, on another landowner’s [property] that wouldn’t cost PowerNet as much."
Mrs Munro also found a resource consent for about seven power poles was lodged by The Power Company Ltd (TPCL) — a 50% share is Powernet and the other 50% share is owned by Electricity Invercargill Limited (EIL), which is owned 100% by the Invercargill City Council.
It was granted within 15 days, she said.
"This reeks of nepotism. Particularly in light of the lack of detail in the application, consultation and the speed in which it was obtained and to get completion. Why is this being rushed so quickly?"
The main complaint from the residents was that this whole process happened without knowledge of affected ratepayers in the area and without proper consultation, she said.
Mrs Munro said in the application they said the "the proposal will have a less than minor effect on any persons" however, she rejected this statement from the power company.
"The personal hurt and harm both mentally, physically and financially is clearly visible among a large number of residents within your constituents."
She said the residents feared it was a done deal and believed the power poles could not only impact the value of their properties — about 25% less — but could also impact road safety, as it was a high-risk crash area.
The cutting down of native trees was a further concern.
The residents felt other options were not explored, such as installing the cables underground and other less-disruptive routes.
A PowerNet spokesman said the preferred line route had been set, but the company had committed to work with residents on exact pole placements.
It had advised there was some flexibility to move poles, within a few metres, to ensure they were safely placed and did not obstruct visibility when exiting driveways, he said.
He guaranteed several alternatives, including undergrounding, were explored, but the option selected would best balance the long-term needs of the electricity network customers, the impact of landowners on the route, and the ability to build and maintain the line over the life of the assets.
"The cost of the selected line route is $10.9million for 19.5km. The total project is $40m, with the balance of the project including investments being made at the Transpower substation and then a new substation to be built at Awarua.
"PowerNet has previously outlined that an underground cable option is estimated at $36.6 million and the option of building another grid exit point at Awarua region is estimated at $40m."
He said as all power users paid the cost of electricity assets over its lifetime, PowerNet decided to go ahead with the optimal solution.
The spokesman said only a "small part of the route" would go through private land and, when this was the case, the lines companies agreed on an easement which would permit them to build the line and to access it for maintenance once it was built.
PowerNet also said the extent of the Invercargill City Council’s involvement with the consent was limited to processing the consent application and residents would be kept informed about any further update.
Invercargill City Council’s consenting and environment group manager Jonathan Shaw did not go into further details about the ownership of the company that lodged the consent; however, he said the Resource Management Act required non-notified consents to be processed within 20 working days/
"Which is what has occurred in this instance.
"As the remainder of the power line is located above ground, it is a permitted activity under the District Plan and does not require resource consent."
