02 December 2025
Mrs J Thomas
By email only: [FYI request #32641 email]
Dear Mrs Thomas
Official Information Act #616 Wairau-Hanmer Springs - Response
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request received by Transpower
on 23 October 2025 regarding the Wairau–Hanmer Springs Hydro Road.
You have requested:
Information about Transpower’s maintenance activities and funding contributions
relating to the Wairau–Hanmer Springs Hydro Road (also known as Rainbow Road),
which provides access to transmission towers and powerlines in the upper Wairau
valley.
1. Any records or summaries showing Transpower’s financial contributions,
contracts, or in-kind works for road or track maintenance, grading, bridge or
culvert repair, or slip clearance on this road from 2015 to 2025.
2. Any agreements or memoranda of understanding between Transpower and
Rainbow Station Ltd, the Department of Conservation, or Marlborough District
Council regarding access rights or shared maintenance responsibilities for this
road.
3. Any documents or correspondence that outline how Transpower ensures year-
round access to its towers and lines within the Rainbow / Wairau–Hanmer
corridor.
On 20 November 2025 we notified you we were extending the time limit by ten working
days to respond to your request due to the need to search through a large quantity of
information and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the
operations of Transpower.
Our response
Q1: Transpower’s works on the road 2015-2025
Please see Attachment One for a list of all work carried out on behalf of Transpower on
this road between 2015-2025.
Information has been withheld from Attachment One to prevent an unreasonable
prejudice to the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject
of the information, under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA.
Q2: Access rights agreements or MOUs
Transpower holds one document which falls within the scope of this part of your
request. This document has been withheld for the following reasons:
to prevent an unreasonable prejudice to the commercial position of the person
who supplied or who is the subject of the information, under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of
the OIA; and
to protect information subject to an obligation of confidence, where release of
that information would prejudice the supply of similar information or information
from the same source and it is in the public interest that such information
should continue to be supplied to Transpower, under section 9(2)(ba)(i) of the
OIA.
Q3: Ensuring year-round access to towers and lines
Due to the dangerous terrain and alpine nature of the area, Transpower does not have
year-round road access to the towers on this section of the line. In the event of an
emergency in the winter, our Service Providers may use helicopters to visually inspect
the towers, weather-permitting. Should the towers need urgent work done, access
would only be possible using heavy machinery including bulldozers and snow ploughs.
Further information
Please do not hesitate to contact us at [email address] if you
have any questions about this response.
If you are not happy with this response, you can make a complaint with the
Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the OIA. Information about how to do this can be
found at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Yours sincerely
Kate Redgewell
Head of Governance, Sustainability & Executive Office
