Dates:
Tuesday 17 March and Wednesday 18 March.
Where:
Te Wharewaka, 2 Taranaki Street, Wellington Central.
There is also the option to attend this event online via Teams.
Register
Registrations are now closed.
Agenda: 17 March 2026
| Time | Title/description | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Registration and morning tea (30 min) | |
| 10:00 - 10:25 | Opening karakia and an update on FNF progress (25 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping GM Market Strategy & Regulation, Vector Andrew Kerr Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, Alpine Energy |
| 10:25 - 10:45 | ENA update (20 min) | Richard Le Gros Policy & Innovation Manager, ENA |
| 10:45 - 10:55 | EEA update (10 min) | Dr Stuart Johnston Lead Advisor, Engineering & Technical, Electricity Engineers' Association |
| 10:55 – 11:35 | Rewiring Aotearoa: the future energy system and the role of networks (40 mins) Rewiring Aotearoa will share a forward-looking perspective on the future energy system New Zealand needs to build toward, and the pathways to get there. The presentation will explore how electrification and emerging technologies are reshaping demands on distribution networks, alongside the key opportunities and challenges of the energy transition. This high-level session will set the scene for the day, focusing on the longer-term direction of travel for EDBs and the wider sector. |
Josh Ellison Co-Founder & Research Lead, Rewiring Aotearoa |
| 11:35 - 12:15 | DSO direction and flexibility: where is the Electricity Authority heading? (40 mins) This session will provide an update on the Electricity Authority’s work programme for Distribution System Operator (DSO) development and the evolving role of flexibility in the power system. It will reflect on earlier workstreams, what has changed, and where current thinking and policy direction now sits. The presentation will also outline what EDBs should expect as the Authority moves into the next phase of DSO and flexibility development. |
Geoff Parr Principal Analyst, Electricity Authority |
| 12:15 - 13:15 | Lunch (60 min) | |
| 13:15 – 14:05 | Enabling vehicle-to-grid at scale: insights from Australia’s major V2G trial (50 mins) This session will explore how vehicle-to-grid (V2G) could unlock large-scale flexibility in future power systems, drawing on insights from Australia’s emerging V2G ecosystem and Amber Electric’s technology trials. Clare Rainbow will share lessons from deploying customer-centric energy automation that enables EVs, home batteries, and solar to participate in wholesale electricity markets. The presentation will highlight real-world customer outcomes, the value proposition of V2G, and key barriers to scaling. This session will give practical insights for networks considering the role of EVs as distributed storage in a high-renewables grid. |
Clare Rainbow Head of Business Development, Amber Electric |
| 14:05 – 14:45 | Farmlands FLEX (40 mins) This session will explore the emerging role of flexibility in the agricultural sector. The presenters will share early insights into the types of flexibility that can be delivered, lessons from any trials or case studies to date, how participation works for farmers, and how they have engaged with EDBs. The discussion will also examine how the needs of agricultural businesses differ from other electricity consumers, and the role local lines companies can play in enabling flexibility opportunities in rural networks. |
Matt Strik Founder & COO, Blackcurrent |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Local flexibility platforms in action: demonstrating Localflex (45 mins) This session will demonstrate the OurEnergy Localflex platform and how it enables local flexibility markets in practice. It will highlight what these tools unlock for networks and customers through real-world examples of flexibility services and market participation. The presentation will also outline what EDBs need to do to engage effectively with local flexibility platforms. |
Peter Thompson Technology Director, Our Energy |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Stretch break and afternoon tea (30 min) | |
| 16:00 - 16:50 | Panel: capex deferral — what have we learned? (50 mins) This panel will reflect on recent capex deferral processes and the key lessons emerging with hindsight. Panellists will discuss how optionality was valued and understood, what worked well, and what proved more challenging in practice. The session will draw out practical insights and considerations for others looking to design or participate in similar approaches. |
Panellists: Jon Stone - Commercial Manager, Network & Customer, Aurora Ryno Verster - DSO Programme Director, Powerco Tomas Kocar - Principal Regulatory Advisor, Unison Mitchell Davis - Flexibility and Markets Development Lead, Orion Facilitator: Josh Ellison - Co-Founder & Research Lead, Rewiring Aotearoa |
| 16:50 - 17:00 | Wrap-up and closing karakia (10 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping GM Market Strategy & Regulation, Vector Andrew Kerr Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, Alpine Energy |
| 17:00 | Event closes and social catch-up begins |
Agenda: 18 March
| Time | Title/description | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Registration (tea and coffee on arrival) (30 min) | |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Opening karakia and welcome (15 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping GM Market Strategy & Regulation, Vector Andrew Kerr Chief Customer & Strategy Officer, Alpine Energy |
| 09:45 – 10:05 | Reflections on yesterday (20 min) This interactive session invites attendees to reflect on key takeaways from yesterday’s discussions. What’s the one insight, idea, or action you’ll take back to your EDB? Join us as we share reflections, highlight common themes, and surface what’s resonating across the sector. |
FNF Co-Chairs |
| 10:05 – 10:45 | Transpower system operator strategy refresh (40 min) Transpower is refreshing their system operator strategy and seeking input from industry on what will ultimately be a 10-year forward view. This presentation will provide an overview of the first stage which has focussed on what the industry will look like in 10 years: the themes and trends, and implications for NZ's energy sector and operation of the electricity system. |
Katherine Moore Head of Power Systems, Transpower |
| 10:45 – 11:05 | Morning tea (20 min) | |
| 11:05 – 11:35 | FlexForum (30 mins) This session will focus on the questions to be asked as part of a whole-of-system assessment of the pricing and orchestration mechanisms required for a smart, flexible power system that maximises the value of flexible resources to enhance the reliability, resilience and affordability of electricity. FlexForum will provide context for its ongoing focus on filling the holes in the value stack, outline the list of questions which need answering and how they are (or are not) being answered. |
Craig Evans FlexForum Secretariat |
| 11:35 – 12:00 | EDB Innovation projects – Orion (25 min) Residential Flexibility (Resi-Flex) – Phase 3b This project is trialling real-world residential demand flexibility by co-designing and testing different commercial incentives with retailers and households across Orion’s network. It aims to understand how residential consumers respond to flexibility signals, and which mechanisms are effective, scalable, and fair for supporting future network planning and pricing. Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Demand Flexibility Project – Phase 2 Phase 2 of this project focuses on increasing participation by large commercial and industrial customers in Orion’s existing Control Period Demand (CPD) pricing signal by removing operational, informational, and capability barriers. It aims to test tools, incentives, and new ways of working (such as dashboards and flexibility assessments) to unlock reliable, scalable C&I demand response and inform wider industry practice. |
Simon Rycroft Flexibility Development Lead, Orion Mitchell Davis Flexibility and Market Development Lead, Orion |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | EDB Innovation projects – Horizon (15 min) Horizon Networks plans to run a one-year trial of Rhizome GridADAPT, an AI- and cloud-based tool that models extreme weather risk across its network. The trial is intended to test whether the tool can reliably identify vulnerable assets, forecast reliability and financial risk, and measure the resilience value of different interventions. The learnings will inform better long-term resilience investment decisions and, if adopted successfully, could improve service reliability and network resilience for consumers during extreme weather events. |
Feng Wu General Manager Network, Horizon Networks |
| 12:15 – 13:00 | EDB Innovation projects – Powerco (45 min) Digital tools and systems will play an important role in delivering the services customers will expect in the future, particularly as electrification increases. Consumer energy resources (CER) create exciting opportunities, but they also bring greater uncertainty, larger-scale impacts, and the need for new capabilities. To give stakeholders better visibility of network opportunities, Powerco is developing an automated and integrated suite of forecasting models based on scenario-based demand forecasting at a detailed level in both time and location. Rather than simply improving existing tools step by step, Powerco’s INTSA demand forecasting project is exploring new approaches to this long-standing challenge. Machine learning and assisted intelligence may play an important role in the future, although they are not yet widely proven in the complex data environment faced by distribution forecasting. Powerco will also share progress on several related initiatives, including advancing grid-edge control to support the managed uptake of solar farms, developing a unified HV and LV connectivity model for operations and planning, exploring LV cable monitoring, and potential work with Urban Intelligence to better understand lifeline utility interdependencies and strengthen resilience to climate change. |
Bernie Coster DSO Programme Principal, Powerco Kewen Kueh Future Networks Engineering Manager, Powerco |
| 13:00 – 13:10 | Wrap-up and closing karakia (10 min) | FNF Co-Chairs |
| 13:10 – 14:00 | Lunch with the Regulatory Working Group (50 min) |
Organisations attending day two:
- Electricity Distribution Businesses
- Electricity Networks Aotearoa
- Electricity Engineers’ Association
- Transpower
- FlexForum