YOUNG ENERGY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR FINALIST: James Howard - Tranzit project manager
22 Jun 2022James Howard joined Tranzit fresh from completing a Bachelor of Commerce at Victoria University. Eight years, and several complex and innovative projects later, he is a key part of the bus company's senior leadership team. His organisational skills, dedication and commitment to getting the job done have been rewarded with multiple promotions, each bringing more responsibility. He is now Tranzit's lead project manager, overseeing a multi-million-dollar budget. Electric bus programme
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NETWORK INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALIST: OMV restores Māui production
21 Jun 2022OMV New Zealand deployed world-leading technologies in its $500 million effort to rejuvenate the country's Māui and Pohokura gas fields. The company had already repaired the undersea pipeline from Pohokura and installed the country's largest electrical compressor for the field when it kicked off an infill drilling campaign to restore dwindling production from Māui.
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LARGE ENERGY USER INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALIST: McCain Foods pulsed electric field technology
21 Jun 2022The world's leading producer of prepared potato products, McCain, is using pulsed electric field technology to help achieve its goal of a 25 per cent reduction in its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. McCain aims to reduce carbon emissions, optimise resource-efficient operations, enable sustainable water usage and move towards zero waste to landfill. In Timaru, one major initiative aimed at achieving these goals is introducing PEF, a food processing technology invented by McCain that brings both commercial and non-commercial benefits.
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WELLBEING AWARD FINALIST: Manawa Energy – People support through retail business sale process
15 Jun 2022In January 2021, Trustpower announced a strategic review of its retail business, and the business case for a standalone generation and commercial and industrial electricity business. It knew this would create considerable uncertainty for its employees. At the time the company, now trading as Manawa Energy, employed about 800 people across almost 30 sites countrywide, including about 550 at its corporate office in Tauranga.
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OUTCOMES AWARD FINALIST: Genesis Energy – caring for vulnerable customers
14 Jun 2022Genesis launched Manaaki Kenehi in September 2020 to take better care of its most vulnerable customers. Since then, Genesis has cut its residential disconnections for non-payment by almost a third and the programme has referred more than 1600 customers to budgeting and energy advice agencies. Genesis says there is an increased awareness of customer hardship, and a greater expectation within the electricity industry and the community that the sector will do more to help.
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COMMUNITY INITIATIVE AWARD FINALIST: Pulse Energy – Pay it Forward Programme
10 Jun 2022Pulse Energy's Pay it Forward Programme aims to support customers who are experiencing energy hardship. The goal of the programme, the company's largest community initiative to date, is to provide meaningful support to customers, with minimal barriers to use. Pulse hoped it would provide temporary financial relief, while also empowering recipients to maintain their financial and emotional wellbeing going forward. Paying it forward
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WELLBEING AWARD FINALIST: Z Energy staff flourish during pandemic
9 Jun 2022In the early days of the pandemic, Z Energy quickly identified that Covid-19 would add pressure for its people and test their mental well-being. It met the challenge head-on, setting a goal that its people leave the pandemic with a greater understanding of their own wellbeing, enhanced connection with their colleagues, and an increased awareness of how they can influence their own wellbeing. It adopted an approach of working for staff, embracing new technology to engage with them, and adapting its way of working to reflect home environments and lockdowns.
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LOW-CARBON FUTURE AWARDS FINALIST: Orion greens its generators
8 Jun 2022Used chip fat and static synchronous compensators - Statcoms - are the two key ingredients in an ambitious project by Orion to decarbonise its diesel generators. Orion's 15 generators are vital when the power goes out in an emergency and keep critical community services connected to the network during upgrades. But that comes at a significant environmental cost. The fleet consumes about 150,000 litres of diesel annually and emits the equivalent of 400 tonnes of CO2, which would require the planting of about 60 hectares of native forest to sequester.
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LOW CARBON FUTURE INITIATIVE FINALIST: Auckland Transport – Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus
3 Jun 2022In 2018, Auckland Transport detailed its strategy to transition public transport to zero emissions following Mayor Phil Goff's pledge to make the city centre's streets fossil fuel-free by 2030. The Low Emission Bus Roadmap identified three recommended technologies - battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and re-powering the existing diesel fleet.
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OUTCOMES AWARD FINALIST: Counties Energy – Driving change for the Kiwi EV market
2 Jun 2022Outcomes Award (New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards) Counties Energy's OpenLoop platform has brought competition into the EV charging market while simplifying billing and reconciliation for infrastructure providers and motorists. The system began life as a charging platform for electricity distributors moving into the EV charging market and has grown into a fully customisable shared platform across public chargers, commercial charging sites for large fleets, electric buses and trucks, and home charging.
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