Roading reseals ready to roll out in Mid Canterbury
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Mid Canterbury roads will get an extra 50km of road resealing after the council dipped into ratepayer funds to cover the cost.
The Ashburton District Council decided to use $2.46 million of ratepayer money after there was a shortfall in the NZ Transport Agency funding.
The council aims to complete an extra 50km of road resealing on top of the already planned 60km of NZTA-subsidised reseals.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said staff selected roads that would ensure the additional work was done as soon as possible.
The contractor has been given the selected sites to be completed by the end of March, he said.
“We’ll monitor that and make sure we can get as close to 50km done.”
As part of the selection process, staff found priority roads that didn’t require significant pre-seal work, he said.
“The sites selected are from the forward work programme, but ones that require minimal pre-reseal repairs, have relatively long lengths, and [are] having a single coat chip seal.
“They have been selected according to the need of being sealed before the cracks open up and water gets in and causes potholes.”
The 27 unsubsidised reseal sites are for pothole prevention rather than pothole repairs, he said.
When the council was deciding how to allocate the $2.4m last month, mayor Neil Brown had suggested putting it all into extra reseals, calling it "preventative maintenance” to avoid the roads cracking and forming potholes.
The extra reseals will push the total past 100km, doubling up on last year’s 49.5km of road resealing.
The estimated cost of the 50.8km of reseals added to the programme is $2.03m, which could leave around $400,000 in the roading budget to allocate to other work.
“We will wait and see if there is much left after doing the reseals before deciding what to spend the remainder on, as it will depend on available time and the season,” McCann said.
Major unsubsidised reseal sites:
Ashburton Staveley Rd 5.8km
Back Track 3.5km (4 sites)
Barkers Rd 5km
Chertsey Kyle Rd 6.4km
Dromore Methven Rd 5170 (2)
Hinds Arundel Rd 6395 (4)
Rakaia River Rd 5.6km
Springfield Rd East 3.7km
Timaru Track Rd 4.2km
Poll: Do you think banning gang patches is reasonable?
With the government cracking down on gangs, it is now illegal for gang members to display their insignia in public places whether through clothing or their property.
This means arrests can be made if these patches are worn in places like restaurants, shops, on public transport or ferries, and on airplanes. Arrests were made recently at a funeral.
Do you think this ban is reasonable?
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0% Yes
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0% No
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0% Other - I'll share below
Power company looks at bigger rebates amid rising electricity bills
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Power prices are set to jump by an estimated $15 a month in Mid Canterbury next year.
But to counter the hike, local power company EA Networks is considering increasing rebates for customers.
During a recent council presentation, an EA Networks representative said they have some of the lowest residential lines charges, but "not all retailers are passing these lower charges on to customers".
The rebate bypasses retailers and pays a sum directly back to power users.
The power price hike follows the Commerce Commission's decision to allow increased investment in the electricity network.
This means the average consumer’s electricity bill will rise from April 1, 2025, to cover increased revenue for Transpower and local lines companies.
That revenue will be invested in the national and local electricity infrastructure.
The increase will represent a 5% jump in the average power bill.
In Mid Canterbury the average domestic user can expect to spend around $180 more on their power bill next year.
However, EA networks are considering the level and frequency of rebates, which would offset some of the increase.
EA Networks owns and operates the region's electricity distribution network and the fibre optic communications network, with Ashburton District Council as the majority shareholder (95%).
Shareholders Committee chairperson Robert Newlands, and new members Gary Wilson and Kate Templeton, provided an update on the state of play for the company at the recent council meeting.
Wilson said EA Networks continues to deliver some of the country’s lowest residential lines charges.
“But not all retailers are passing these lower charges on to customers.”
Retailers keep prices up and are “taking that income for themselves”.
EA has the second lowest network prices but ranks 12th once the retailers on-sell the electricity, he said
With the Commerce Commission dictating the increased revenue, line companies like EA Networks have to increase distribution charges.
“EA has chosen to keep its costs high, but then rebate that money back to the consumer,” Wilson said.
“They are only taking as much as they need for cash flow to run the business and the community will benefit with the consumer rebate.”
Newlands said if EA opted to have the reduced line charge, the retailers would absorb that and pass on higher costs, “and the consumer will be disadvantaged”.
“By passing on the costs from the Commerce Commission regulations and then rebating back, it’s a better advantage to the community.”
The frequency of the rebates is also being looked at, Newlands said.
He encouraged customers to shop around retailers for the best deal and consider energy efficency options.
The commission’s decision sets a 44% maximum allowable revenue increase for Transpower over the next five years and a 47% maximum increase for local lines companies.
The commission will smooth the increases over five years.
After the first year's increases (from April 2025), households can expect annual increases of $5 per month in each of the following four years.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.1% Yes
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15.1% No
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2.7% Other - I'll share below
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