2026 Energy Awards winners

Contact Energy was the big winner at the Energy Excellence Awards, taking four of the 10 categories.

The gentailer - which last week reported a record full-year earnings result - was named electricity retailer of the year at last night's awards ceremony in Wellington.

Its Glenbrook 100-megawatt battery project earned Contact the energy project of the year title, and its efforts to tackle the sector-wide skills shortage saw it take the FutureForce award as well.

And in partnership with Syos Aerospace, it was recognised in the innovation category for an underwater robotic coating measurement and inspection system.

The judging team, led by Ventia operations manager Harsharan Singh, says Contact has shown it has a highly coherent retail strategy based on customer well-being, affordability and trust.

Judges were also impressed with the firm's attention to detail in developing the Glenbrook BESS, its foresight in developing a future workforce, and its willingness in the Syos project to tackle an issue for which there was no commercial solution anywhere in the world.

PowerNet was named energy distributor of the year for the way it dealt with what the judges called the extraordinary challenges caused by a storm in Southland and Central Otago in October.

The installation of an electric arc furnace at the Glenbrook Steel Mill saw New Zealand Steel take the large energy-user initiative of the year award.

Alliance Group and Active Refrigeration won the low-carbon future title for a project to install heat pumps to provide process heat at three Alliance meatworks; Genesis Energy's Women in Wholesale programme was recognised with the well-being award; and Orion Group's work with Tautoru Mautai to turn degraded farmland on Banks Peninsula into thriving forest saw it take the community initiative award.

The young energy professional of the year title went to Simon Harvey, general manager of contracting at Westpower and ElectroNet Group.

Joining Singh on the judging panel this year were Sapere Research Group director Toby Stevenson, independent consultant John Hancock, Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe, strategy and management consultant Carmen Blackler, Enerlytica director and head of research John Kidd, independent director Dave Binnie and Carbon Match director Lizzie Chambers.

The full list of winners is:

FutureForce Award - sponsored by Ngākau Hihiko

Highlighting the sector's growing focus on workforce development, diversity and early talent pathways.

Winner: Contact Energy - Attracting early careers to lead New Zealand's renewable energy future

Finalists: Octopus Energy - Empowering futures through squiggly career paths; Orion Group - Ubuntu Programme: Enabling the workforce of tomorrow; Transpower and Engineering NZ - Wonder Project: Power Challenge - Powering up our future workforce.

Innovation in Energy Award - sponsored by Fujitsu

Showcasing technical ingenuity across generation, asset management and emerging system risks.

Winner: Contact Energy and Syos Aerospace - Underwater Robotic Coating Measurement and Inspection System.

Finalists: Supa Energy - Supa: Distributed power, private capital, community wins; Transpower and The Solar Tsunamis Endeavour Programme - Space weather - from invisible risk to national resilience; Contact Energy - Māpuna - Innovative geothermal well management solution.

Energy Distributor of the Year - sponsored by Axos Systems

Recognising network companies balancing reliability, investment and customer outcomes.

Winner: PowerNet.

Finalists: Counties Energy; The Lines Company.

Community Initiative of the Year - sponsored by Eagle Technology

Reflecting deeper engagement between energy companies, communities and whenua.

Winner: Orion Group - Tautoru Mautai - a partnership to restore the whenua.

Finalists: Contact Energy - The Good Initiative; Reefton Powerhouse Charitable Trust - Reefton Powerhouse Project.

Young Energy Professional of the Year - sponsored by Elemental Group

Recognising leadership and innovation among emerging sector talent.

Winner: Westpower/ElectroNet Group - Simon Harvey, general manager - contracting.

Finalists: Northpower - Shaun Brown, general manager - engineering and delivery; Woolworths NZ - Chitranjan (Chintu) Rathod, energy operations and innovation manager.

Energy Retailer of the Year - sponsored by EDMI

Awarding excellence in delivering reliable, customer‑centric energy solutions with measurable impact.

Winner: Contact Energy

Energy Project of the Year - sponsored by China Construction Bank New Zealand

Highlighting large-scale infrastructure and generation projects shaping system capability.

Winner: Contact Energy - The Flex Factor: Glenbrook Ohurua Battery 1.

Finalists: Channel Infrastructure NZ - Channel Infrastructure accelerated diesel storage for NZ; Eastland Generation - Showcase for shared success: TOPP2 geothermal power plant project.

Low-carbon Future Award - sponsored by TechnologyOne

Focused on practical, scalable pathways to emissions reduction.

Winner: Alliance Group and Active Refrigeration - Alliance High Temperature Heat Pump Projects.

Finalists: BraveTrace - BraveTrace NZECS: Proof that powers decarbonisation; Fonterra Co-operative - Project Kowhai - small footprint with a big impact.

Well-being Award - sponsored by Ergo Consulting

Recognising organisations prioritising workforce health, safety and inclusion.

Winner: Genesis Energy - Women in Wholesale.

Finalists: Alpine Energy - Fully charged; Bluecurrent - Well-being at Bluecurrent.

Large Energy User Initiative of the Year - sponsored by EECA

Demonstrating how major energy consumers are driving decarbonisation at scale.

Winner: New Zealand Steel - The New Zealand Steel Electric Arc Furnace - securing the future of steel making, a strategic asset for NZ.

Finalists: KiwiRail - Decarbonising KiwiRail's shunt fleet for a sustainable future; Woolworths NZ - Predictive Power: Scaling AI-driven decarbonisation across New Zealand.

The New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards are run by Energy News publisher Freeman, and sponsored by Gentrack, Hitachi Energy, Anderson Lloyd, Energy Resources Aotearoa, ERGANZ, GasNZ, Electricity Networks Aotearoa, Electricity Engineers' Association, New Zealand Wind Energy Association, Major Electricity Users' Group, Carbon and Energy Professionals New Zealand and the Young Energy Professionals Network.