Supporting the Islington-Southbrook Reconductoring Upgrade
- Lumen
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
When reconductoring a transmission line, getting the "sag" right is everything. It’s about working within tight mechanical tolerances - using precise survey gear to dial in the conductor tension so it meets every safety and design spec.
Recently, Ventia took on a major job replacing a long section of conductor on the Islington-Southbrook (ISL-SBK-A) line, a 66kV double circuit line near Christchurch. Because this line consisted of short, consecutive spans, the surveying had to be spot-on. Ventia identified that dedicating three engineers to the project for a full month would result in a resource shortage within their team.
How we assisted
Having teamed up with Ventia on big projects before (like the ROX-ISL-A duplexing and BPE-WIL-A reconductoring jobs), we knew exactly how to help. We stepped in to provide the extra hands and equipment (reflectorless total station) they needed to keep the project moving.
Our role was all about being easy to work with:
Total Flexibility: We know stringing and sagging depend on external variables including the weather and daily site progress, so we stayed on-call to adapt to their shifting timeline.
Ready to Go: We provided an experienced engineer who came fully equipped to handle the sagging from start to finish.
Fast Paperwork: We provided sagging data on the spot and handled the QA records immediately, avoiding any project delays.
"In all instances, Lumen have been flawless, with consistent communication, with real people who understand the challenges and issues we face. When problems arose, they were quick to react to keep teams on track, on budget, and home safe."
Evan McKenzie - Project Manager, Energy, Water & Renewables at Ventia
Reliability when it matters
Site work is unpredictable, but we made sure our engineering support was readily available. Providing our own equipment and utilising a team that knows sagging inside out meant we could guarantee our service. Our engineer was available for the duration of the project, including weekends, to make sure Ventia never faced expensive downtime.
By providing site support and same-day QA docs, we delivered the certainty Ventia needed to proceed with conductor clamping and satisfy the customer’s QA requirements.
Ultimately, this project was a great example of how Lumen acts as a seamless extension of a contractor’s team - providing a reliable sagging service that can be dependent on during an evolving project timeline.
