Ensuring reliable and resilient networks
We’re committed to ensuring our networks are reliable for our customers and resilient to weather events, climate change and cyber threats. Read about our progress and goals for Pou whirinaki below.

Our projects

Explore what we’ve been working on to keep our networks reliable and resilient for our customers. 

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Goals and targets FY26

Here's what we want to achieve for Pou whirinaki over the short, medium and long-term.

Short term (1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026)

  • Resilience to climate change -Undertake physical feasibility assessments to determine the impact of gas assets identified as vulnerable to physical climate risks.
  • Cyber risk management - Set a baseline measure for cyber security using the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework (AESCSF) and establish key areas for improvement.
  • Reliable energy supply - Keep our customers’ power on for an average of 99.95% of the time.
  • Resilience to climate change - Improvement in our self-assessment for resilience using Resilience Risk Management Maturity Assessment Tool (RMMAT).   
  • Resilience to disaster - Formalise the co-ordination of infrastructure interdependencies during disaster events, through a Taranaki Lifelines Advisory Group pilot.
  • Reliable energy supply - Deliver energy security to gas customers by keeping gas flowing 99.99% of the time. 
  • Update our 30-year electricity demand forecast scenarios to inform our network strategies and planning.
 

Medium term - (1 - 3 years)

  • Resilience to disaster - Update emergency response plans in co-ordination with regional and national emergency management agencies to define community acceptable response targets. 
  • Reliable energy supply - Continue the rollout of further ADMS modules and functionality as per our roadmap, including the business adoption of intelligent switching and developing an operator training simulator.
     

What we've done FY25

  • We only partially completed our planned site feasibility work during FY25 which was paused while we focussed on planning resulting in the publication of our Adaptation and Resilience Plan.  This documents our approach to identify, mitigate and adapt to climate change.  A number of climate resilience projects were also completed including:
    Gas network: Vulnerable gas assets were identified and prioritised using exposure maps.  Physical feasibility assessments will now be undertaken in FY26.  Timing for remediation work will be confirmed from FY27.   
    Electricity network:   
    - Our first community hub (Akitio) was established to improve community resilience for electricity.  
    - Network hardening projects were undertaken to improve identified priority climate changes risks.  
    - We contributed to the Electricity Engineers Association Resilience Guide update

    Our gas and electricity networks now have different short term resilience initiatives and so separate FY26 targets have been set.
  • We successfully maintained our independent certification under the ISO 27001 Information Security management standard. However, reflecting on this target we believe it is more a measure of data privacy than cyber risk.  The FY26 target has changed accordingly.
  • During FY25, we kept our customers’ power on for an average of 99.95% of the time.
  • Our inaugural Climate Related Disclosure and Adaptation and Resilience Plan were published in July 2024.  These climate-related publications present our transparent approach to the challenges and opportunities of a changing climate and set out our plan to transition to a low-emission climate resilient state.
  • We are now a member of the regional lifeline advisory groups across its footprint, and a contributing member of the New Zealand Lifelines Council. We have collaborated through these forums on both regional and national interdependencies.  A more formal approach has commenced through a pilot co-ordination of infrastructure adaptation plans across the Taranaki Lifelines Group and recurring agenda discussions at NZLC.
  • During FY25, we kept gas flowing to our customers, an average of 99.9999% of the time.  
 
 
  • As a lifeline infrastructure owner and operator, we have contributed to a number of scenario-based assessments across our footprint during FY25.  These include the national oil and gas outage and response exercise following a Taranaki eruption, Exercise Harunga (critical contingency response to an earthquake) and the NZ Lifelines Council North Island Priority Routes.
  • In November 2024 we went live with our first Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) upgrade, implementing an updated geospatial visualisation of the electrical network.  Work continues towards intelligent switching and developing an operator training simulator.
 

What we've done FY24

  • Powerco's Energy Resilience Strategy was completed and published internally.  Supporting roadmaps, success measures and roles and responsibilities for delivery are under development.
  • We implemented a refreshed enterprise risk management framework through the delivery of 11 risk deep dives, aligned to our four strategic priorities and assessed in a consistent manner using enviornmental, social, governance and operational risk criteria.  This provided a modern approach to risk, aligned with our strategy processes and integrated across the business. 
  • An external assessment was conducted to identify differing requirements between the 2013 and 2022 revisions of the ISO-27001 standard and to pinpoint any potential gaps in Powerco's Information Security Management System (ISMS). Any gaps have been integrated into the organisation's annual business planning process and are currently being addressed. Powerco is scheduled to undergo formal accreditation against the latest ISO 27001:2022 standard during FY25.
  • During FY24, our electricity customers' power was on for an average of 99.97% of the time. 
  • Powerco’s climate change scenarios and the initial outputs of physical risk analysis have been included in our 2024 Electricity AMP and 2023 Gas AMP.  Our first Climate Adaptation and Resilience plan will be published during FY25. Work is underway to determine how to value resilience through our electricity value framework, and embedded into our gas asset management decision framework.  We have also set up working groups in planning/design on our network hardening initiatives.
  • Gas flow to customers in FY24 was maintained for 99.9999 % of the time.
  • Our leakage target of less than 100 pipe leaks per 1,000km was achieved with 95 leaks in FY24.
  • Our first round of gas leak detection was undertaken from April 2024.  

 

  • We are planning for the gas network to be fully surveyed using the gas leakage vehicle by the end of Q3 FY25.  This will enable us to set a baseline for emissions reductions.
  • Initial resilience measures have been developed, setting a baseline for further community consultation and refinement.  Building on work undertaken with Lifelines groups (Waikato, Manawatu-Whanganui, Wairarapa etc.) so that cross-sector understanding of interdependencies can feed back into our network investment.
  • Progress has continued on the implementation of phase one of the Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) programme.  This includes work on:
    - deploying eMap – an updated full graphical visualisation of the network for operations
    - switch order management (process automation of network switching), and 
    - distribution power flow (improved operational visibility of voltages and power flows). 
    Testing and user acceptance is to begin in early FY25, with go-live expected later in the financial year.

What we’ve done FY23

  • A new enterprise-wide Risk Management Policy and Framework has been developed that provides a priority-based approach to identify, assess and address environmental, social, governance and operational-related risks.
  • Powerco has maintained its cyber security maturity at a level that is resilient against most cyber threats and is well-prepared to respond in the event of an incident. The focus for FY23 was improving staff awareness of external cyber threats.
  • Material climate data such as coastal erosion, coastal inundation, and flooding layers have been uploaded into Powerco's GIS platform. 
  • Due to the major events such as Cyclone Gabrielle, the target to keep our customers' power on for an average of 99.95% of the time was not met. However normalising for major events we achieved 99.96%.
  • Our reporting for storm resilience improved during FY23, and included impact of weather events and windspeed on our network resilience.  Further reporting improvements are planned for FY24. 
  • More than 500 low voltage monitors were installed during FY23. The information provided by these monitors was used to create a Distributed Generation hosting capacity map that indicates potential capacity for EV charging stations and other distributed energy oppportunities.
  • We delivered gas to our customers 99.99986% of the time.
  • During FY23 we detected and fixed 65.65 leaks per 1000kms.  This is within our target of <100 pipe leaks per 1,000km per annum.
  • The Marcogaz model was established to determine specific gas loss (and emissions) using historic gas leak data. The next step is to use the model to track and report on leakage every 3 months.
 

 

  • The FY23 Asset Management Plan (AMP) includes network resilience planning, based on physical risk work undertaken in 2020. This will be further updated with the development of an adaptation and resilience plan, for inclusion in the 2024 AMP.
  • Climate scenarios have been established and integrated into business planning. FY24 will focus on physical risk analysis and the development of an adaption and resilience strategy.
 

Supporting links

Annual Delivery Report
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