本莫尔发电站投入发电六十年后，子午线能源公司正在进行抗震改造，以确保一旦发生大地震，电站能够尽快恢复运行。

改造的重点是本莫尔的大型引水管道，这些管道将水从大坝顶部输送到涡轮机。

与世界上大多数大坝不同，本莫尔的引水管道由混凝土制成。随着南岛阿尔卑斯断层发生大地震的可能性越来越大，现在是时候提升其性能了。

本莫尔对于大地震后的恢复至关重要，因为连接南岛和北岛的高压直流输电线路就从这里经过。梅里迪安发电公司总经理塔尼亚·帕尔默表示，本莫尔水电站的发电量足以满足约30万新西兰家庭的用电需求，因此新西兰完全可以承受其长期停运。她指出，

未来50年内，阿尔卑斯断层发生强烈地震的概率高达75%，因此我们现在进行投资，以确保在地震不可避免地发生时，引水管道能够得到最大程度的损坏，甚至完全不受损。大坝本身没有风险，但如果不进行这项加固工程，六条引水管道中的一条或多条可能会在很长一段时间内无法正常工作。

这项抗震加固工程将于2025年底至2029年初进行，其内容包括改造每条引水管道顶部的连接处，使其在地震中能够自由移动。该项目还将安装流体粘性阻尼器（一种减震器），以耗散地震期间产生的能量，并降低压力管道出现裂缝的可能性。

挑战在于如何在不影响其运行能力的前提下对如此庞大的基础设施进行施工。每根引水管都位于37度的斜坡上，长约130米，内径5.3米。由于水流的重量，每根引水管的重量接近3000吨，因此我们投入了大量精力来评估合适的工程解决方案。

虽然这项工作风险不高，但我们认为这是全球首次开展此类项目——我们将对每根引水管进行加固、稳定和包裹，同时还要应对数百万升水的奔涌。——Tania Palmer，Meridian发电公司总经理

建造本莫尔水电站是新西兰一项杰出的创新之举，因此，我们现在所做的工作也同样具有创新性，这完全合情合理。我们的水电站是宝贵的资产，长期以来一直为国家做出卓越贡献。我们深知，我们有责任保障新西兰家庭和企业的电力供应，而我们在本莫尔和其他电站所做的工作将有助于它们在未来几十年里持续生产清洁能源。

Sixty years after Benmore Power Station first started generating power, Meridian Energy is making seismic improvements to ensure that it will be back up and running as soon as possible if 锟絫he big one锟� hits.

The focus is Benmore锟絪 massive penstocks, which funnel water from the top of the dam down to its turbines.

Unusually, and unlike most dams around the world, Benmore锟絪 penstocks are made of concrete and with the probability of a large earthquake along the South Island锟絪 Alpine Fault growing, it is time to enhance their performance.

锟紹enmore will be critical to recovering from a large quake as it锟絪 from here that the high voltage DC link runs between the South and North Islands. With Benmore generating enough power for around 300,000 Kiwi homes, the country can锟絫 afford to have it out of action for long,锟� says Tania Palmer, Meridian GM Generation.

锟絋here锟絪 a 75% chance of a significant earthquake along the Alpine Fault in the next 50 years, so we锟絩e investing now to make sure the penstocks have very little, if any, damage when it does inevitably happen. There锟絪 no risk to the dam itself, but without this work it锟絪 possible that one or more of the six penstocks would be unable to do their job for an extended period of time.锟�

The seismic strengthening work, being carried out from late 2025 to early 2029, involves modifying the joint at the top of each penstock to allow it to move freely in an earthquake. The project will also install fluid viscous dampers (a form of shock absorber) to dissipate the energy caused during an earthquake and reduce the likelihood of cracks appearing in the penstocks.

The challenge is working on such large pieces of infrastructure without impacting their ability to operate. Each penstock rests on a 37-degree slope and is approximately 130m long, with a 5.3m internal diameter. With the weight of water travelling through them each penstock weighs almost 3000 tonnes, so substantial effort has gone into assessing a suitable engineering solution.

锟絎hile this work is not a high risk, we think it锟絪 the first time a project like this has been undertaken anywhere in the world - we锟絩e going to be reinforcing, stabilising and wrapping each penstock all while millions of litres of water are rushing through them,锟� Tania Palmer - Meridian GM Generation

锟絋he construction of Benmore was a brilliant piece of Kiwi innovation, so it锟絪 only fitting that the work we锟絩e doing now is equally innovative. Our hydro stations are incredible assets that have served the country well for a long time. We know we锟絩e responsible for helping keep the lights on for Kiwi homes and businesses, and the work we锟絩e doing at Benmore and other stations will help keep them generating clean energy for decades to come.锟�