Waikato Business News October/November 2016
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the voice of the region’s business community, a business community with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of co-operation.
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the
voice of the region’s business community, a business community
with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of
co-operation.
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22 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>October</strong>/<strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
ABOUT WEL NETWORKS<br />
An innovative, infrastructure provider, we<br />
distribute power from the national grid,<br />
to more than 160,000 people throughout<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>.<br />
Electricity is our core<br />
business but we also<br />
play an essential role<br />
in the region’s economic and<br />
social development.<br />
We identify and invest<br />
in new technologies that<br />
benefit our people, modernise<br />
our network and future<br />
proof our region - from<br />
Smart Networks and electric<br />
vehicle chargers to Ultrafast<br />
Fibre.<br />
100 percent community-owned,<br />
WEL Energy Trust<br />
is our sole shareholder.<br />
RESIDENTS ADVISED TO GET TREES<br />
NEAR POWER LINES TRIMMED<br />
Once the wild weather calms<br />
down, give WEL Networks a<br />
call to have trees near power<br />
lines trimmed.<br />
Trees that aren’t maintained<br />
regularly can encroach<br />
on overhead power lines and<br />
cause unnecessary power outages<br />
on the network. In fact,<br />
untrimmed trees account for<br />
a fifth of unplanned power<br />
outages in our communities.<br />
The recent wild weather may<br />
have highlighted unruly trees<br />
on your property so the calm<br />
before the next possible storm<br />
is a good time to call in the<br />
professionals.<br />
WEL Networks Arborist,<br />
Jonny Ogden, wants you to<br />
take a safety first approach<br />
when managing vegetation on<br />
your properties.<br />
“It’s extremely dangerous<br />
for DIYers to attempt to trim<br />
their trees around power lines<br />
because once a tree gets into<br />
contact with a live power line,<br />
electrocution becomes a real<br />
hazard. Please don’t take the<br />
risk. We have a team of qualified<br />
arborists who provide<br />
vegetation management services<br />
to the community.<br />
“We also routinely monitor<br />
trees around our network to<br />
identify any that may have<br />
an impact on overhead power<br />
lines, because they’re overgrown,<br />
or as we experienced<br />
recently, during severe weather<br />
conditions such as storms or<br />
strong winds.”<br />
He says WEL Networks will<br />
also take a proactive approach<br />
if a tree poses a particular threat<br />
to community safety.<br />
“When we’re made aware<br />
of a potential issue we’ll send a<br />
letter to the property owner providing<br />
options for tree trimming<br />
or removal. Work doesn’t start<br />
without the property owner’s<br />
consent, and all work is carried<br />
out by our highly-trained arborists<br />
who carry WEL identification<br />
with them.”<br />
For more information on<br />
WEL’s vegetation management<br />
services or to arrange<br />
tree trimming phone 0800 800<br />
935 or visit www.wel.co.nz.<br />
It’s extremely<br />
dangerous for<br />
DIYers to attempt<br />
to trim their trees<br />
around power<br />
lines because<br />
once a tree gets<br />
into contact with<br />
a live power line,<br />
electrocution<br />
becomes a real<br />
hazard.
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