Why a pylon fell and cut power to Northland

The pylon fell after bolts were removed from three leg bases. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 01 Aug 2024

A distracted supervisor and inexperienced and under-trained contract workers caused a pylon to fall on June 20, cutting off power to Northland.An investigation by Transpower said the crew removed nuts from three of the four pylon legs at the same time before the collapse happened.The report confirmed that the tower fell because the contracted Omexom crew performing routine baseplate maintenance work did not follow standard practice and removed all the nuts. Transpower acting chief executive John Clarke said Transpower apologised again...

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