Powerco is the second-largest

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

and largest

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

distributor in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is one of only two companies to distribute both electricity and natural gas through their network (the other being

Vector Limited Vector Limited is an electricity and gas distribution company in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the national number one provider of electricity distribution, number one provider of electricity and gas Measuring instrument, metering and number tw ...

). Its network delivers electricity and gas to households around the North Island from the national electricity transmission network Transpower and the natural gas transmission system owned and operated by

. Powerco arose from the energy reforms in New Zealand in the 1990s. It can trace its history back to a number of local power boards and gas companies that operated throughout the North Island. The company is currently owned by Australian companies, including

Queensland Investment Corporation QIC (Queensland Investment Corporation) is a Government owned investment company owned by the Queensland Government. It was founded on 1 July 1991 pursuant to the ''Queensland Investment Corporation Act 1991'' to serve the long-term investment r ...

and

AMP Limited AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products (through AMP Banking) including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in Sy ...

Business

The New Zealand electricity reforms of the 1980s split the electricity industry broadly into four sections - generators, transmitters, distributors and retailers. Six main generator businesses (

Contact Energy Contact Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation, electricity generator, a wholesaler of natural gas, and a retailer of electricity retailing, electricity, natural gas, broadband and Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG. It is the second- ...

, Genesis Energy,

Mercury Energy Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. In August 2021, Mercury acquired ...

Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and is ...

Trustpower Manawa Energy Limited, formerly Trustpower, is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa Energy has 26 hydro-electricity schemes, with a ...

and

Nova Energy The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion, owned and controlled by the Todd family and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by chairman of the board, Henry Tait ...

) generate electricity and supply it to New Zealand's national grid, operated by Transpower. Transpower transmits high-voltage electricity to grid exit points (or substations) around New Zealand for transmission to households and businesses. The local distribution network (mostly consisting of underground wires and/or overhead wires) that transmit electricity to end-users like households and businesses are owned and operated by local distribution companies, mostly regionally based. Powerco is a distributor whose business is completely separate from generation, national transmission and retail (selling delivered electricity to end-users). It operates a 30,000 km local electricity distribution network supplying 320,000 households, industries and businesses from Transpower's national grid and a 6,000 km natural gas distribution network supplying 102,000 households, industries and businesses from Vector's transmission system. Its electricity network currently supplies the following regions: *

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

and the Western Bay of Plenty District * Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki, Matamata-Piako and South Waikato Districts *

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

Region * Wanganui and Rangitikei Districts * Palmerston North City and Manawatu District * Southern Tararua District (south of and including

Mangatainoka Mangatainoka is a small settlement in the Tararua District of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the banks of the Mangatainoka River, north of Pahiatua. Mangatainoka is home to the nationally famous Tui Brewery which provides brewery ...

) *

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

Powerco's natural gas distribution network covers: *

* Manawatu *

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Horowhenua District Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of ...

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

Wellington City Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, ...

Key dates

* April 1993 - New Plymouth Energy (the electricity division of the

New Plymouth District Council New Plymouth District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ngāmotu) is the territorial authority for the New Plymouth District of New Zealand. The council consists of the mayor of New Plymouth, , and 14 ward councillors. Composition Councillor ...

) merges with Taranaki Electricity (former Taranaki Electric Power Board) to become Taranaki Energy Limited. * 1994 - Taranaki Energy acquired the Hawera Gas Company. * October 1995 - Taranaki Energy Limited merges with Wanganui-based Powerco (the former Wanganui Electric Power Board) to become PowerCo Limited. * September 1997 - Powerco acquires Hawera based Egmont Electricity. * April 1998 - Government pass Electricity Industry Reform Act. PowerCo decided to become a "network business" (or lines company), and the following changes are made: ** Electricity Retail Business (customer base) sold to

Genesis Power Genesis Energy Limited, formerly Genesis Power Limited is a New Zealand publicly listed electricity generation and electricity, natural gas and LPG retailing company. It was formed as part of the 1998–99 reform of the New Zealand electri ...

** Gas Retail Business sold to Natural Gas Corporation ** Natural Gas Corporation's Taranaki gas networks sold to Powerco ** Powerco's five hydro power stations sold to

TrustPower Manawa Energy Limited, formerly Trustpower, is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa Energy has 26 hydro-electricity schemes, with a ...

** Powerco purchases Wairarapa Electricity's network business (formerly part of the Wairarapa Electric Power Board) * August 2000 - Powerco merged with CentralPower (itself formed by the merger of CentralPower (for former Manawatu-Oroua Power Board) and ElectroPower, the former electricity division of Palmerston North City Council). * June 2001 - Powerco purchases the Hutt Valley and Porirua gas networks from AGL. * February 2002 - Powerco purchases the Electricity Assets of United Networks Limited in

, Eastern and Southern Waikato, Thames and Coromandel, plus gas networks in Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatu and Hawke's Bay. * 2004 - Powerco purchased Siemens Energy Services' Tauranga based contracting division * November 2005 - Powerco sold its New Zealand field services contracting business to Tenix Alliance * 2008 - Divestment of Powerco Australia Group (Tasmania gas distribution) to Babcock & Brown Infrastructure

Electricity network statistics

Natural gas network statistics

References

External links

* {{Electricity companies in New Zealand Electric power distribution network operators in New Zealand Oil and gas companies of New Zealand Energy companies established in 1999 New Zealand companies established in 1999