Powering up for change

 

Published by Electricity Networks Aotearoa (ENA), the Powering up for change website is intended to keep you informed of the issues and progress with transforming New Zealand's electricity distribution network to ensure the energy sector can capture the benefit of electrification and decarbonisation.

 

The world is at the start of an energy revolution as low-carbon electricity replaces climate change-causing oil and gas. New Zealand is part of this energy transformation, which will require much greater volumes of reliable and sustainable electricity to be available for homes and businesses.

 

Electricity consumers will have much more choice as to how they access and use electricity. Change includes new local and consumer-based generation and storage technologies which supplement electricity transmitted over the national grid.

 

New options for generating and delivering power to consumers will also be offered by innovators who will have access to local distribution networks.

 

Some consumers will choose to be actively engaged with their energy options while others will prefer ‘set-and-forget’ simplicity. Consumers will have the choice to use the grid only as a back-up to their own off-grid energy options, or to generate and store their own electricity and participate in the electricity market.

 

To achieve a reliable and sustainable transformation of electricity supply and consumption, local lines networks must manage a significantly increased but highly-variable demand for electricity as well as managing the greater levels of complexity the changes will bring to network operation.