Where:
Central Wellington at the Wharewaka Function Centre. There is also the option to attend this event online via Teams.
Register now
Register here. Note that tickets for day one in-person are now sold out. You can still register to attend online and/or on day two in-person)
Agenda: 29 July 2025
| Time | Title | Speaker / presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Registration and morning tea (30 min) | |
| 10:00 – 10:25 | Opening karakia and welcome from the FNF Co-Chairs, and an update on FNF progress (25 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping – GM Market Strategy & Regulation, Vector Andrew Kerr – Chief Customer & Strategy Officer, Alpine Energy |
| 10:25 – 10:45 | ENA update (20 min) | Richard Le Gros – Policy & Innovation Manager, ENA |
| 10:45 – 11:25 | Te Waihanga insights (40 min) This presentation will explore long-term infrastructure trends and what they mean for future demand in Aotearoa. It will cover investment and coordination challenges across sectors, highlight emerging good practice in long-term planning, and share insights relevant to electricity distribution businesses. |
Peter Nunns – GM Strategy, Te Waihanga |
| 11:25 – 11:50 | Flexibility plan 2.0 (25 min) This presentation will provide an update on the flexibility plan 2.0, highlighting key changes since the original version, emerging insights, and early challenges. We’ll also look ahead to what’s next as the platform continues to evolve. |
Toby Stevenson – Independent Chair, FlexForum Craig Evans – Secretariat, FlexForum |
| 11:50 – 12:50 | Lunch (60 min) | |
| 12:50 – 13:35 | Venus Bay, Australia case study – Changing Weather (45 min) Spurred by Mallacoota’s bushfire experience, Venus Bay explored how microgrids, batteries, and resilience hubs could boost energy self-sufficiency and disaster readiness. Heather shares outcomes from guiding the community through network literacy, surfacing local values, and collaboratively shaping a resilient energy future. |
Heather Smith – Energy & Climate Change Specialist, Changing Weather |
| 13:35 – 14:35 | Flexibility markets and future models panel (60 min) Panellists will share what they set out to test or demonstrate, how their projects were structured, and the insights gained through real-world trials. The conversation will focus on both what worked and what could be improved. |
Mitchell Davis - Flexibility and Markets Development Lead, Orion John Campbell - CEO, OurEnergy Craig Evans - Secretariat, FlexForum Luke Cartmell-Gollan - Commercial Development Manager, Simply Energy Jason Larkin - General Manager Commercial & Centralines, Unison Networks (Panel Facilitator) |
| 14:35 – 15:15 | Stretch break and afternoon tea (40 min) | |
| 15:15 – 16:05 | Unlock full network potential with smart meter data that delivers visibility, flexibility, and control (50 min) Hear from Bluecurrent about the evolution of its Network Operations Data Service, including outage management and high-frequency data. Product experts will also showcase how EDBs and energy retailers can collaborate effectively through Dynamic Load Control—unlocking mutual benefits while operating in harmony across the EDB’s network. They’ll share real-world examples of how this approach improves grid efficiency, customer outcomes, and commercial alignment. |
David Prince - Head of Value Added Services Wes Bernard - Product Manager Network Services John Keller - GM of Sales |
| 16:05 – 16:45 | Unlocking flexibility: Survey insights and round-table (40 min) This session will begin with a short presentation from EECA sharing early insights from their recent flexibility survey and broader observations on barriers to implementation. It will then open into a roundtable discussion where participants can share their own business experiences and challenges in scaling flexibility. |
Brian Moore – Technical Director – Energy & Power Market Advisory, Jacobs Brian Fitzgerald - Senior Advisor Strategy, EECA Vincent Smart - Senior Advisor Strategy and Programme, EECA |
| 16:45 – 17:00 | Wrap-up and closing karakia (15 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping – Vector Andrew Kerr – Alpine Energy |
| 17:00 | Event close and social catch-up at Shed 22 bar |
Organisations in attendance
- Electricity Distribution Businesses
- Electricity Networks Aotearoa
- Electricity Engineers’ Association
- Transpower
- Electricity Authority
- Commerce Commission
- Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority
- Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment
- Ara Ake
- New Zealand Infrastructure Commission
- FlexForum
Agenda: 30 July 2025
| Time | Title | Speaker / presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 – 08:50 | Registration (20 min) | |
| 08:50 – 09:05 | Opening karakia and welcome from the FNF Co-Chairs (15 min) | FNF Co-Chairs James Tipping – Vector Andrew Kerr – Alpine Energy |
| 09:05 – 09:25 | 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 |
| 09:25 – 09:45 | Network transformation roadmap (20 min) The FNF is evolving the work programme for the coming year. To get there, we've been engaging with FNF members across the Communities of Practice to understand the issues and outcomes. This presentation will discuss that work and how the priority areas of effort are shaping up. |
FNF Co-Chairs |
| 09:45 – 10:05 | EDB common load management protocol (20 min) Brief update and audience Q&A. |
Richard Le Gros – Policy & Innovation Manager, ENA |
| 10:05 – 10:35 | Morning tea (30 min) | |
| 10:35 – 11:25 | Navigating funding pathways: Reflections on funding applications (50 min) This session brings together organisations who have recently applied for funding through mechanisms such as the INTSA, the Project Innovation Pathway, and other funding streams. Panellists will share what they were trying to achieve, the process they went through, and key lessons learned along the way. The discussion will cover both what worked and what they would do differently next time. |
Matt Smith – Policy Advisor, Vector (Facilitator) Andrew Kerr – Alpine Energy Irene Clarke – Policy Manager, Powerco Simon Rycroft – Flexibility Development Lead, Orion |
| 11:25 – 11:50 | Streamlining connections project (25 min) This session will provide an overview of the Streamlining Connections programme, including reflections on the benefits of the collaborative, sector-wide approach. It will also include a brief update on Phase 2 projects currently underway, covering a short overview of the 3 projects, early thinking on INTSA, and the importance of ongoing stakeholder engagement. Counties Energy and WEL Networks will also present their implementation plans for the Phase 1 quick wins. |
Connor Reich – Regulatory Lead – Electricity Authority, Orion Liah Sibley – Head of Customer Works, Counties Energy Holly Benadie – Network Project Coordinator for Future Networks and Development, Counties Energy Grant Morris – Customer Works Portfolio Manager, WEL Networks |
| 11:50 – 12:15 | Customer segmentation project (25 min) This session will present key findings from the national residential customer segmentation model, including updates based on the 2023 Census. It will also outline a practical use case plan for applying these insights to better understand the uptake and potential of distributed energy resources (DERs) and flexibility services across customer segments. |
Anca Cernic – Customer Insights Manager, Vector |
| 12:15 – 12.50 | Transforming Network Waitaki – from visibility to action (35 min) This presentation will explore how Network Waitaki is building a smarter, more responsive electricity network through three key focus areas:
|
Craig Conlan – Head of Future Networks and Assets, Network Waitaki Sumant Bhouraskar – Future Networks Engineer, Network Waitaki |
| 12:50 – 13:10 | Wrap-up and closing karakia (20 min) | FNF Co-Chairs |
| 13:10 – 14:10 | Lunch (60 min) |
Organisations in attendance
- Electricity Distribution Businesses
- Electricity Engineers’ Association
- Transpower