Privacy Policy

This Privacy Notice applies to all personal information collected by Transpower New Zealand Limited and its subsidiaries about individuals (other than its own staff and Board), whether or not collected via this website. This Privacy Notice does not cover other websites owned by Transpower (such as, but not limited to EM6 and emsTradepoint). Those websites have their own Privacy Policies.

Transpower is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 2020 in respect of all personal information it holds.

This Privacy Notice sets out how and why Transpower collects, uses and discloses personal information. It categorises personal information collected by Transpower, and the purpose it is used for, across the different types of people it collects personal information about, such as website and social media users, employees of the electricity industry and other stakeholders, suppliers and service providers, property owners and occupiers, and investors.

Members of the public

Website users-www.transpower.co.nz website

Information collected: Transpower collects personal information contained in any application form or information submitted via this corporate website at www.transpower.co.nz, including:

applying for a job at Transpower, such as any curriculum vitae and covering letters; and contacting us using the ‘Contact Us’ form; submitting information about safety incidents involving the national grid; signing up to our newsletters; registering for job alerts; registering for a ‘User account’ on our website; and applying to the CommunityCare Fund

From time to time Transpower conducts public surveys, and we collect any personal information included in responses. We will use this information for the purpose we state at the time we issue the survey.

Visitors

When visitors attend Transpower’s offices or properties (such as substations), they are required to sign in. The sign-in system collects their name, their employer or business, and who they are visiting. Visitor history is maintained for three months. Visitors will also be recorded on CCTV cameras at the public areas of Transpower’s properties. This personal information is to maintain a record of interactions with visitors; for crime prevention and operation of the national grid; for the health and safety of visitors and Transpower’s employee staff and contractors, suppliers and service providers; and for Transpower’s usual internal purposes. Any health and safety incident on-site will have a health and safety incident report completed, and that report (including any personal information in it) is used for health and safety purposes (such as prevention and mitigation of risks and internal reporting).

0800 The Grid telephone calls

Transpower maintains several dedicated telephone lines for members of the public to report safety incidents involving electricity lines and/or the national grid. Transpower maintains recordings of these calls for regulatory and health and safety reasons, which will include any personal information given during those calls. Sometimes when a member of the public has been involved in an incident involving Transpower’s assets (either reporting it or as a party) Transpower will also collect personal information about that incident such as names, contact details, documents and photographs. Transpower uses these calls and other information to respond to emergencies, to investigate and fix faults and damage, to liaise with the rest of the electricity industry as required, and to improve health and safety. On occasion, Transpower is asked by its regulator, the Electricity Authority, to release call recordings that are relevant to an investigation it is conducting. Access to those recordings within Transpower is granted only to those who strictly need it for their job.

Visitors

0800 The Grid telephone calls

We also ask for a limited amount of personal information if you want access to certain non-public information hosted on our website (for example copies of relevant contracts) to identify you as a user. We only use this for the purpose of regulating your access to information.

We will only use personal information you provide for the purpose you provided it for. Sometimes we may need to share information you provide about our Service Providers (who work on our physical assets) to them, to enable them to respond to us effectively.

Website analytics: We use third party analytics tools (currently Google Analytics) to collect statistical information about your visit to help us improve the site. The information collected via these analytics tools helps us understand how our website is being used, to gain insights about how we can improve the functionality and user experience of our website, and to understand browsing behaviour to give you a better experience whilst visiting our sites. The analytical information referred to above will be viewable by our website providers, designers and site administrators and certain other Transpower staff who need to know it.

Consultations

From time to time Transpower runs public consultations. We may also hold information days, and/or public meetings to consult on matters. We will collect any personal information either included in submissions (typically name, email, address, employer or business and role, landownership details and phone number) or given to us at information days/public meetings (e.g. via a sign-in page) and opinions and views expressed. We will use any submission (either in writing or at meetings) to help form our decision on the consultation matter. We may also use submissions for our regulatory or other normal business purposes e.g. as proof of community consultation, or as evidence of support or opposition in our application for resource consents.

OIA requesters

Transpower receives many requests for information to be released under the Official Information Act. We collect personal information provided in an OIA request (e.g. name and contact details), the request itself, and our response and other interactions with you.

Social media

We receive any personal information you submit when you interact with any social media accounts operated by Transpower, and whatever information is publicly showing on your social profile. We use it to interact with you and provide you with any services or information you request on the social media platform.

Responses to surveys

Industry and stakeholders

Transpower collects personal information from employees of electricity industry participants (such as retailers and distributors) and other stakeholders, across a wide range of situations where they interact with Transpower:

via consultations;
subscription to Transpower newsletters and other non-public parts of Transpower’s website;
when wishing to connect assets to the national grid, including any potential land purchases and other commercially sensitive information;
when required by electricity industry law, regulation or Code;
when required by the Education Act, regulation or Code;
via complaints and rule breach allegations involving Transpower; during complaints and investigations involving Transpower;
during meetings with Transpower staff and contractors from time to time;
in emails and other communications sent to Transpower from time to time.

All these interactions will collect name, role, employer and contact details, sometimes office location, as well as any transactional information. Some interactions will collect more personal information, such as situations when a consultation meeting has taken place, professional details, details of iwi and hapu affiliations and preferences for how to conduct business.

Transpower uses this information generally to maintain relationships with electricity industry participants, invite those participants and relevant stakeholders to events, provide services or information requested, fulfil its statutory duties, and other uses it makes clear at the time of collection or which is obvious from the situation (e.g. to investigate a complaint). We will use any consultation submission (either in writing or at meetings) to help form our decision regarding the consultation. We may also use consultation submissions for our other normal business purposes e.g. as proof of community consultation, or as evidence of support or opposition in our application for resource consents. Transpower also uses this information to maintain an emergency contact list for the electricity industry for use in major events e.g. earthquakes, unplanned outages or other emergencies.

Suppliers and Service Providers

Suppliers and prospective suppliers (e.g. tender respondents)

Transpower collects personal information about the employees of a business or organisation and its subcontractors who supply Transpower.This includes name, contact details, role, employer, bank account and GST numbers, any other personal information disclosed during the relationship, and may on occasion include professional details such as work history and qualifications. Transpower uses this information to select, deal with and pay its suppliers in the ordinary course of business, maintain a business to business relationship and obtain the benefit of its business agreement or arrangement.

Service providers and consultants

Transpower collects a range of information about the employees of the service providers it uses to maintain and build the national grid (“service providers”):

name, role and contact details; for any incident which may have a health and safety issue involving that employee, relevant details of what that employee was doing, and how, along with evidence such as documents and photographs;

Transpower uses this information for:

general business relationship purposes; business transactions with the relevant service providers, including negotiations; Transpower’s usual business practices involving service providers such as processes around commissioning transmission assets and post-commissioning; providing a skills-based training system so it has confidence in the employees who conduct work on its behalf and can maintain a high standard of health and safety; usual health and safety reasons, both for those employees and Transpower employees and contractors including incident management, reporting and prevention; controlling access to its critical assets such as substations.

for health and safety auditing purposes, the name of an employee who is to be audited and the dates and types of jobs completed;
photographs, videos and audio of service provider activities for training conducted by Transpower, where that employee has consented;
for learners in Transpower’s Grid Skills training and processes, name, position/role ID, employer, user name, email address, ethnic group, iwi, gender, date of birth, NZQA number as well as training history and qualifications obtained, marks, and uploaded course work;
for Grid Skills training approvers, name, contact details and other information required to create their approver profile for Grid Skills approved Service Provider Technical Experts, name, position, employer, email address, CV, employer recommendation, phone number; names, roles and employer for employees with keys to Transpower’s substations, held in our Key Register; and
personal information collected during visits to Transpower’s properties (see above under ‘Members of the Public’ then ‘Visitors’).

Property owners and occupiers

Property owners where Transpower has assets on the land, (or on adjacent land) or an easement, or other legal rights

Transpower maintains a database of its landowners which includes personal information such as:

their names, address, phone numbers, email, preferred way of contact; any Transpower approvals (e.g. RMA approvals); any easements or other formal legal rights Transpower has in respect of the property; notes that relate to property (e.g. biosecurity, health and safety) that Transpower’s service providers need to know; personal preferences (e.g. way to access land, access agreements); approvals of property owners as affected parties; records of negotiations, meetings and transactions (e.g. emails, letters, notes on phone calls, complaints); if there has been a health and safety incident on the property (with no details); Land Information New Zealand details about the property (e.g. lot and DP number); occasionally, bank account details; relevant Court hearings and Council decisions; reports commissioned by or for Transpower in relation to their property (e.g. archaeological, electrical clearance);

Transpower uses this information for the same purposes as set out above under ‘Property owners where Transpower has assets on the land, (or on adjacent land) or an easement, or other legal rights’ except that it does not survey these property owners or undertake consultation with them about transmission assets.

Occupiers of Transpower owned property

Where Transpower leases property to third parties, it will hold the normal information relevant to that lease e.g. names, contact details, lease commencement/expiry date ,, rental, bank account information and any bad debts.This information sits with either a third party property manager, in the case of our residential properties, or internally in a property management system. Transpower uses this information for normal landlord purposes and is only shared with Transpower staff who need to know.

Transpower collects similar personal information from occupiers of its non-residential property, but also collects the terms of occupation, details of relevant easements, and creates internal records such as stakeholder notes and negotiation records. It uses the information for similar things as for its residential properties, except that no third-party provider is involved.

Transpower shares this information only with staff and the liaison officers of service providers who need to know the details (e.g. the service provider is visiting the property).The personal information can be collected by Transpower or by service provider employees who update details.

Property owners who want Transpower’s consent for activities in its transmission corridor

This category of property owners may not have Transpower assets on their property (for example, if part of their property is under or near Transpower’s transmission lines and the National Grid Corridor), but need comments and sometimes approval (under the Resource Management Act) from Transpower regarding activities and development they can carry out on their property. Sometimes Transpower receives notice that a property owner may not be complying with the conditions of Transpower’s approval, and it will investigate. Transpower may sometimes collect personal information from publicly available sources (such as Councils and LINZ) or third parties in order to assist it to provide the Services.

As part of these activities, Transpower collects some or all the following personal information:

details (name, email address, phone number, postal address) of the individuals concerned; details of any agent involved on behalf of the property owner; details of their query or application, and supporting information; information about their property: parcel ID, address, history of past land uses; email correspondence (e.g. with the individual, appointed agents and other public authorities such as the Council); any investigation or compliance reports, including any health and safety investigations (including names of people on site); correspondence with disgruntled other interested parties that relate to an individual; supporting documents such as plans, technical drawings, specialist assessments and reports, and construction management plans; records of submissions made by the individual and Transpower in respect of any Projects, including any mediation and/or court hearings; details of any damage to Transpower’s assets caused by the individual; resource consent information and applications and written approval documents under the Resource Management Act; Council decisions on resource consents and reports; and applications and dispensations under the Electrical Codes of Practice.

Transpower uses this information for:

contacting the property owner as required and periodically checking contact details; surveys to check compliance with requirements of the Act ( and or our service specification requirements) and the access requirements of the property owner have been met; verifying landowner comments/claims; negotiations e.g. for easements; consultation on options for locating or moving transmission assets on or around their property; making decisions on the any application or providing requested information; investigating potential or actual breaches, including health and safety; ensuring compliance; legal compliance and law enforcement (including to government agencies with statutory law enforcement responsibilities); facilitating court proceedings and enforce Transpower’s rights; protecting Transpower or others; or for its own internal business purposes e.g. record keeping, guidance notes and case examples.

breach investigations and correspondence (e.g. of archaeological authority);
compliance information (e.g. discovery of contaminated ground);
photos (which may include people).

Investors

Bondholders (both New Zealand and overseas)

Transpower issues bonds in the New Zealand Debt Market, in the US Private Placement market and other international markets. The personal information that Transpower collects on individual debt security holders includes:

Name and contact details; Tax codes and tax numbers; Debt security identification numbers; and Transactional information on bonds held and sold.

Transpower uses this information to keep a register and pay its obligations to debt security holders, and comply with any applicable regulations, law or securities exchange rules.

Financial Intermediaries

Transpower collects the same personal information about intermediaries’ employees and uses it for the same purposes as set out above under ‘Suppliers and Service Providers’ and ‘Suppliers’.

Sharing your personal information

In addition to all of the above categories Transpower shares personal information when it is necessary or desirable to do so with its subcontractors and information system technology vendors.When it does so, Transpower makes sure this is done securely.

Security

Transpower takes security seriously and uses reasonable and appropriate security protections to ensure that Personal Information in its care is not misused, lost, disclosed, modified or accessed without proper authorisation.Access to Personal Information held by Transpower is limited to those employees, contractors or subcontractors of Transpower who need it to do their job or perform a legitimate business purpose or function for Transpower (e.g. maintaining our websites).

Rights of Access and correction

To ensure your personal information is accurate and current, please notify us of any changes to your personal information as soon as possible. You may request access to, or correction of, any personal information Transpower holds about you, by contacting Transpower using the details set out under ‘Questions, exercising your privacy rights and complaints’. If we refuse to make the correction you seek, you are entitled to ask for a statement of correction to be attached to the uncorrected personal information.

Retention

Transpower will retain your personal information as long as it is required.But Transpower is also subject to the Public Records Act which may require us to hold that personal information longer still.

Questions, exercising your privacy rights and complaints

Transpower collects and holds the personal information set out in this Privacy Notice. Our address is Waikoukou, 22 Boulcott Street, Wellington. However, for further information, to exercise your privacy rights or complain, please email us or write to us at this address:

The Privacy Officer
Transpower
PO Box 1021

Wellington 6011
New Zealand

Email; [email protected]

Changes to this Privacy Notice

Transpower may amend and review this Privacy Notice from time to time. Transpower will provide 30 days notice of any change to this Privacy Notice by advertising on its website (such as with a banner). Any amendment applies from the date stated in that advertisement.