AWARDS FINALIST: Northpower – connecting communities and building futures in Northland
Northpower is combining strategic investment, technical innovation and community engagement to deliver reliable, future-ready infrastructure across Whangārei and Kaipara.
Over the past two years, Northpower has significantly increased its capital investment - up 73 per cent to $40 million annually - to strengthen network resilience and meet growing demand.
Key projects have included construction of a new substation in Mangawhai to meet the demands of rapid population growth, a major upgrade to the Kensington substation which serves more than 28,000 of the company's customers, and planning for a new 33 kilovolt line to enhance supply resilience.
It's all part of a $400 million, 10-year investment strategy that will lean heavily on technical innovation to keep the company's operations efficient and cost-effective.
In the past year, Northpower has developed Hiko and Mahi, in-house software applications that consolidate data from multiple systems into a single interface, automate manual processes and improve safety and compliance.
Hiko supports internal operations, while Mahi extends similar capabilities to contractors, improving the efficiency of new connections and regulatory compliance.
Communication
Customer communication has also been enhanced through the development of the Network Outage Reporting Application, or NORA.
An extension of Hiko, it provides near real-time outage updates across multiple platforms, reducing manual input, improving transparency and enhancing customer service.
Northpower is also trialling three data analytics products to process meter data for network insights such as high loop impedances, excessive transformer voltage, broken neutrals and service line issues.
The company's commitment to data-driven operations is further demonstrated by its Managed Data Platform and a dedicated Data Governance Working Group. The initiatives ensure data is secure, accessible and used effectively across the organisation.
Commercially, Northpower continues to perform strongly. It consistently ranks in the upper quartile of distribution pricing scorecards and has worked with Transpower and neighbouring network Top Energy to increase renewable generation in the region.
Community
Northpower says community engagement remains a cornerstone of its strategy. The Home Energy Education Programme has helped thousands of households reduce energy costs, while the organisation's presence at community events and outreach initiatives has strengthened local relationships.
Northpower has also deepened its engagement with iwi and hapū, incorporating Te Ao Māori principles into infrastructure projects and renewable energy developments.
The company says it worked closely with Te Uri o Hau during the design and construction of its 16.7 megawatt-DC solar project near Ruawai - Te Puna Mauri ō Omaru.
The hapū was both a key stakeholder and a provider of skills for the $25 million project, which will improve the resilience of local power supplies and was the largest community-owned solar farm when it went live late last year.
The annual Energy Excellence Awards will be held in Wellington on 13 August. The Energy Distributor of the Year Award is sponsored by Axos Systems.