Northpower hosts Bhutanese electricity leaders

Northpower is hosting a delegation from the Bhutan Power Corporation Limited (BPC) as part of a fact finding mission on best practice in the electricity sector.

The delegation is this week visiting Northpower’s head office in Whangarei, along with its Auckland depots.

Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia located at the eastern end of the Himalayas, bordered to the north by China and to the south, east and west by the Republic of India.

Northpower Chief Executive Mark Gatland says it is pleasing to host BPC’s leaders and their tour sponsor, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

“Northpower has worked with TEPCO previously and learnt from its experience in the electricity sector so it is pleasing to be able to pass on our electricity network knowledge to representatives of BPC,” says Mr Gatland.

“The challenges BPC faces maintaining its network are immense, with men having to walk for days in very steep terrain to attend to maintenance. Anything we can share that helps them is positive.”

The Northpower tour included an overview of the New Zealand electricity sector, Northpower’s history and current business set up, safety, subcontractor management, employee recognition, along with management of electricity peaks and troughs.

BPC’s Mr Noboru Seki, Project Leader, JICA Team, says the Northpower visit has been invaluable to the company.

“We are extremely grateful to Northpower for hosting us and their great hospitality in New Zealand,” says Mr Noboru Seki.

“We have learned so much and have so much to take back to our country. We are especially impressed with the ‘values’ that Northpower carries and works with.”