Todd Energy

Welcome to Todd Energy's March update

Kaponga Primary School Principal, Shane Downs (centre) with members of the Community Advisory Group and Todd Energy team.

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the March issue of our Todd Energy Community Focus and the first of our community updates to use our brand-new digital platform. I hope you enjoy this change to an online update in response to community feedback.

The start of 2024 has been a busy period for the Todd Energy team.

We successfully completed the planned maintenance shutdown of our Kapuni Benfield Train 3 back in January, with Trains 1 and 2 scheduled for April-May. April will be a particularly busy time for the team with the full Kapuni Plant maintenance shutdown scheduled to commence directly after the Easter break.

In January in north Taranaki, we successfully completed the capillary string installations, which are designed to improve well stability. The team is now focussed on preparing our Big Ben drilling rig for potential third-party drilling opportunities ahead of the Pohokura infill well which is planned for the second half of 2024.

In mid-March, we held the first of our Kapuni Community Advisory Group (CAG) meetings for 2024. The event saw us hosted by Shane Downs, Principal of Kaponga Primary School, and provided a fantastic opportunity for the team to see the School's community garden and EnviroSchool project which is being support by Todd Energy (see above photo).

With that, I hope you enjoy the new format of our community update and some of the stories highlighted below. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about our activities, please contact the Community team on 0800 001 007.

Ngā mihi,
Mark

COMMUNITY WELLBEING

New Hato Hone St John Ambulance station in Hāwera

Hāwera now has a new ambulance station thanks to the amazing support and drive of the south Taranaki community over a ten-year period.

The new facility, which is located on Waihi Road in Hāwera, was officially opened at a special ceremony on Saturday, 23 March which included blessings from both St John and Ngāti Ruanui and was attended by members of the Todd Energy team.

The ambulance station is one of three new purpose-built facilities constructed in Taranaki with partnership support from Todd Energy. The other two stations in New Plymouth and Stratford were opened in 2020 and together, all three St John facilities play a critical role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our Taranaki communities.

You can read more about the new Hāwera ambulance station below.

New Hāwera ambulance station

TANGATA WHENUA, ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

Protecting the Mangahewa Stream

Todd Energy and Otaraua Hapū have been working collaboratively to understand the health of the water and the life within the Mangahewa Stream (Awa) in north Taranaki.

Some of the tools used to collect this data in conjunction with ecologists include spotlight fishing, eDNA testing, using the NIWA fish passage assessment tool, the Otaraua Mauri compass, and gathering water, soil, and silt samples to better understand the quality of the water.

The initiative, designed to ensure we can continue to make the best decisions for all species inside the Awa, is part of a programme Todd Energy has committed to which will monitor the overall health of the stream.

Part of this initiative was the assessment of four structures close to Todd Energy's McKee Mangahewa Production Station (MMPS) which had been assessed as fish barriers. Todd Energy is due to start remediation activity through the removal of one barrier, an instream weir, this month.

In early March, a team from Todd Energy, BTW and Otaraua Hapū walked the Mangahewa Awa collecting water samples before undertaking a spotlight survey of the four reaches between the fish barriers to gather qualitative data on fish species in order to mitigate and monitor any potential influence on the species. This was an important part of the process and ensured there was comprehensive environmental monitoring and data from both before and after the weir was removed.

While the remediation activity is undertaken, Otaraua Hapū will continue to compare western science results collected with its own Mauri compass monitoring programme to ensure there is a holistic bicultural view of the health of the Awa. A Kaitiaki Forum is also being established to discuss, plan and evaluate both Todd Energy’s monitoring obligations and any potential opportunities for further enhancement of the Mangahewa Awa.

CHILD AND YOUTH WELLBEING

Getting behind Okaiawa kids rugby

Established in 1896, Okaiawa Rugby Football Club (RFC) is the oldest rugby club in south Taranaki and has a long and proud history in the community. It's also one of the only rugby clubs in Taranaki not on District Council land, with the upkeep of the Club's facilities and fields managed by Club members and community volunteers, with the support of a range of sponsors.

Todd Energy recently entered into a new partnership with Okaiawa RFC and is now the proud supporter of Okaiawa's kids grade rugby which covers all four of the Club's morning grade teams - U7s, U8s, U10s and U11s. This is a fantastic opportunity to support the Club in growing its tamariki through rugby, enabling them to be healthy, fit and resilient young people.

Check out those very happy faces above, enjoying their brand-new Todd Energy-branded match gear.

ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

Thank you from the TRFU team

Recently, members of our Todd Energy Community Team were visited by Chief Executive, Mike Sandle and Commercial Manager, Jimmy Fastier from the Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU).

TRFU kindly gifted Todd Energy a signed jersey in recognition of our ongoing partnership support for TRFU's Planting Trees for Tomorrow initiative, which started in 2022.

If you're interested in finding about more about Planting Trees for Tomorrow, check out the video below which shows some amazing students from Matapu School in south Taranaki who planted on a neighbouring community member's wetland area in July last year as part of the 2023 programme.

Matapu School students plant the whenua

COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Taranaki Retreat's 2024 Waimanako Duck Race!

We were very excited to stand alongside our friends at Taranaki Retreat together with Tatiana, the Todd Energy-sponsored inflatable llama, who took to the water as part of the 2024 Waimanako Duck Race.

The event held at the end of February saw around 3,000 sponsored yellow rubber ducks - with more than a few llamas, toucans and swans thrown in for good measure - racing down New Plymouth's Huatoki Stream, all in the name of fundraising for the Retreat.

Todd Energy has enjoyed a long and positive partnership with Taranaki Retreat, including supporting its New Plymouth CBD support hub, the Waimanako Hope Centre.

You can find out more about Taranaki Retreat and the amazing mahi they do in our community by visiting their website below.

Find out more about Taranaki Retreat

COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Huirangi School's twilight market success

It was fantastic to have members of the Todd Energy team taking care of the BBQ and supporting the Huirangi School community at the school's twilight market fundraiser which was held back in late January.

As always, the Todd Energy crew were in great spirits and enjoyed seeing familiar faces from the local community and supporting Huirangi School's Home & School Committee by helping to cook and serve some very tasty food.

OUR PEOPLE

Celebrating International Women's Day 2024

This International Women's Day, Todd Energy proudly shined the spotlight on our Kapuni Laboratory team and the three Todd Energy wahine - Dulani, Iona and Jashan - who keep its wheels in motion.

Together, these three are the brains behind what is quite possibly the only laboratory in New Zealand with the capability to analyse food grade CO₂ - meaning they have a critical role to play in delivering on Todd Energy's purpose of Energising New Zealand.

Ka pai tō mahi!

What is International Women's Day all about?