AWARDS FINALIST: Westpower | ElectroNet Group – Simon Harvey – General Manager
ElectroNet general manager Simon Harvey has overseen remarkable growth since taking charge of the contracting business in 2020, with the Westpower/ElectroNet Group firm increasing revenue, improving safety performance, creating new jobs, and expanding operations nationwide.
The group says revenue increased from $45 million to $125 million in the four years to 2026, while reducing workplace injury rates and expanding its workforce.
Westpower/ElectroNet chief executive Peter Armstrong says Harvey has led the contracting business through a period of performance turnaround, organisational restructuring, and cultural change.
"The results of his work are a business which is more cohesive, has a great culture, is performing strongly and contributing to an award-winning group of companies," Armstrong says.
Apprentice to general manager
Harvey (pictured right in the picture above, with lines contract delivery manager Matt Kerr on the left and line mechanic Tom Anderson in the middle), started at the firm as an apprentice electrician in 2007.
He developed a strong trade foundation before moving into increasingly senior operational and project management roles. progressed through operational, project management and leadership roles.
Westpower/ElectroNet says Harvey led large-scale projects as a project manager, consistently delivering successful outcomes.
He also earnt recognition as a reliable and capable leader "whom others sought out for advice and support".
Harvey was appointed to lead the group's largest business unit as contracting general manager six years ago during a period of broader leadership transition within the organisation.
Westpower/ElectroNet says Harvey's technical grounding allows him to make well-informed decisions at an executive management level, bridging the gap between strategic intent and practical delivery.
He embraces an engineering, procurement, and construction approach, "delivering solutions to the industry which encompass a full project solution, the firm says.
"This philosophy has been applied under his watchful eye to a number of large successful projects throughout New Zealand."
National growth
Westpower/ElectroNet says part of the contracting business' growth has been from investment in workforce development, systems upgrades and replacement of tools, plant, and vehicle fleets.
Operational expansion has also occurred beyond the company's traditional West Coast base, with depots now well established in Cromwell, Nelson, and Taranaki, as well as the head office on the West Coast.
A maintenance contract secured with Aurora Energy in 2024 contributed to growth in Central Otago, with ElectroNet subsequently purchasing land and establishing a permanent depot in Cromwell in 2025.
Aurora Energy's customer and commercial services general manager, Mark Pratt, says this demonstrated a long-term commitment to supporting the network with a locally based workforce.
"The result has been improved responsiveness, stronger service delivery and deeper community connection," Pratt says.
Workforce growth
Under Harvey's leadership, the contracting business has created an additional 50 roles, taking the workforce to almost 200 employees across the West Coast, Nelson, Cromwell, and Taranaki, as well as project sites around New Zealand.
Female representation within the contracting division increased from 9 per cent in 2021 to 15 per cent in 2026.
Safety performance is another area of improvement. ElectroNet's lost-time injury frequency rate fell from 11.14 in 2022 to 3.79 in 2026, and both the frequency and severity of workplace harm declined during the period.
When he took on the general manager role, Harvey immediately focused on three key areas which had been neglected for many years previously.
The first was supporting people to be the best they can be by opening up opportunities and cross-skilling.
The group's workforce - particularly the contracting arm - is the most stable it has been in many years, it says.
"People are now exposed to work types which they never had open to them in the past, everything from extending fibre networks for Chorus, through to building massive windfarms for major generation companies."
Business efficiencies
Harvey also focused on upgrading the firm's systems to get them running efficiently.
Major investments were made in ensuring all workers are equipped with the tools they need to do their jobs, "not only effectively, but also safely".
New technologies including the Risktalk digital safety platform, artificial intelligence tools to support market scanning and bid evaluation, and enhanced reporting systems.
That investment in upgrading tools, plant and equipment included "one of the newest and most reliable vehicle fleets this company has ever seen", delivering both business and environmental benefits via lower emissions.
"Put simply, under Simon's leadership the contracting business has completely transformed," Westpower/ElectroNet says.
As well as taking the contracting arm to "new heights", Harvey has enhanced the reputation of the team, and set the company up for success well into the future.
"He has developed an incredibly talented team of people who will also serve the industry well for years to come, strengthening the energy sector."
The annual Energy Excellence Awards will be held in Wellington on Wednesday. The Young Energy Professional of the Year award is sponsored by Elemental Group.