Powerco

Powerco is the largest dual-energy distribution company in New Zealand by length, and is one of only two dual-energy (electricity and gas) distributors in the country.

Its networks are located in the North Island of New Zealand.

Powerco is owned by Australian companies Queensland Investment Corporation and AMP Limited.

Business
Powerco is a dual-energy distributor. Its role is to bring the gas and electricity delivered by the transmission networks Transpower (for electricity) and Firstgas (for gas) from the gas fields and power stations where it's generated, through its distribution networks, to customers.

Powerco owns and operates 28,935km of electricity lines and cables, and 6,227km of gas pipes. Over 900,000 customers are connected to its networks across 345,000 individual electricity connections and 112,000 individual gas connections.

Its electricity network covers: 
 Coromandel to South Waikato
 Bay of Plenty: Tauranga and Mount Maunganui
 Taranaki
 Whanganui and Rangitīkei
 Manawatū
 Wairarapa

Its gas network covers:
 Taranaki
 Hawke's Bay
 Manawatū
 Porirua and Hutt Valley
 Wellington

Key dates 
 April 1993 - New Plymouth Energy (the electricity division of the New Plymouth District Council) 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
 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
 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 Tauranga, Eastern and Southern Waikato, Thames and Coromandel, plus gas networks in Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatū 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

Gas network statistics

References

External links

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