Business Central September 2021

22 | DEVELOPMENT WEL Networks Gearing up for lower carbon future T T Karen Phelps WEL has a vision of building a new service model and a smart network to provide a safe, sustainable and cost-effective service. 0508 NEXANS www.nexans.co.nz NZ-based manufacturers of long-life MV cable. Proudly supporting WEL Networks W aikato-based electricity distributor WEL Networks is planning to spend $269m on network development projects over the next decade to support cur- rent and projected growth in the region. The plan includes the requirements for the increased electrification of the Waikato community and industry as the company aims to move towards a lower carbon future, says chief executive Garth Dibley. “The acceleration of electrification, solar, batteries and electric vehicles is changing the energy landscape at pace and we need a strong strategic response,” he says. “We’re driven by the changing expectations of our customers who are more reliant than ever before on the availability of reliable, sus- tainable power at the best price,” he says. In response to these changes and in align- ment with their purpose, vision and values, WEL have aligned business activities to four of the United Nations’ Sustainability Develop- ment Goals. “Through this alignment we believe we can make the most impact and generate the most synergy with our strategic direction as we take on new, innovative opportunities in the provision of clean and affordable electricity in our region. “We’ve also created an E3 Strategy to ensure we extract the greatest benefit from the investments made in our core infrastruc- ture, explore alternative energy solutions for customers and expand into our future state given the changing electricity environment,” says Garth. In order to provide what customers and businesses need today and tomorrow for a low carbon, low price, choice-driven energy future, using power efficiently is key. WEL has a vision of building a new service model and a smart network, which provides a safe, sustainable and cost-effective service to the community. That’s why WEL Networks has invested in low voltage (LV) visibility; the ability to view the current and future condition of the LV network including managing and distribut- ing energy resources within it. “Power is carried from distribution trans- formers to the electricity meters of industri- al, commercial and residential customers. By efficiently monitoring this data, this can reduce costs, optimise network investment and improve customer service and safety,” explains Garth. He says that innovations such as this will be a key to success and WEL Networks will continue to incubate new ideas. This will sit alongside growing WEL’s genera- tion portfolio increasing investment in renew- able generation, exploring opportunities for solar, wind, hydro and batteries. Pursuing new opportunities and investing in innovative energy solutions was one of the key drivers behind WEL’s recent purchase of Infratec – a New Zealand-based company that specialises in large solar PV and battery solutions. Infratec works alongside WEL’s Energy Services division to provide a complete in-house service from design to delivery. “The Energy Services division is solely fo- cussed on sustainable and innovative energy solutions. The aim is to provide customers with reduced energy costs and choice by using a combination of solar, batteries, micro-grid development and optimisation software. “As a result this will enable us to continue to increase the availability, security and supply of our network; ensure our pricing is fair and equitable and increase sustainability to ensure we do the right thing for our environment and our communities. It’s an exciting step forward for WEL Networks as we continue to work towards delivering sound, technical innova- tion to our customers and our communities, enabling them to thrive.” Reducing energy hardship in the Waikato is another key focus and WEL Networks plans to expand its OurPower offering increasing the community benefits through low electricity prices. OurPower aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and is part of the Waikato Wellbeing Project (WWP), a regional initiative to achieve a more environmentally sustaina- ble, prosperous and inclusive Waikato region by 2030. OurPower uses a cloud-based system to automatically bill, receipt and switch custom - ers, with no human interaction. This allows WEL Networks to create savings, which are passed on to customers through a simple, low price model. Garth says that the OurPower platform is scalable, and can be used to support other pricing and business models for electricity retail and has allowed the company to explore other projects including Raglan Local Energy. “We’re driven by the changing expectations of our customers who are more reliant than ever before on the availability of reliable, sustainable power at the best price.”