In 2011, the growth of the Ōpōtiki region because of the expansion of the Kiwifruit industry and the need to manage frost protection caught the Company off guard with a sudden spike in demand causing a loss of supply to customers. The long-term solution was to build a zone substation, but this was dependent on the outcome of the Commerce Commission’s final decision that would allow the Company to earn a fair return. The Company engineered a solution that would provide an interim solution which included the installation of a set of voltage regulators.